Identification of benzoquinones in pretreated lignocellulosic feedstocks and inhibitory effects on yeast

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass under acidic conditions gives rise to by-products that inhibit fermenting microorganisms. An analytical procedure for identification of p-benzoquinone (BQ) and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone (DMBQ) in pretreated biomass was developed, and the inhibitory effects of BQ and DMBQ on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were assessed. The benzoquinones were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole-mass spectrometry after derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. Pretreatment liquids examined with regard to the presence of BQ and DMBQ originated from six different lignocellulosic feedstocks covering agricultural residues, hardwood, and softwood, and were produced through impregnation with sulfuric acid or sulfur dioxide at varying pretreatment temperature (165-204 °C) and residence time (6-20 min). BQ was detected in all six pretreatment liquids in concentrations ranging up to 6 mg/l, while DMBQ was detected in four pretreatment liquids in concentrations ranging up to 0.5 mg/l. The result indicates that benzoquinones are ubiquitous as by-products of acid pretreatment of lignocellulose, regardless of feedstock and pretreatment conditions. Fermentation experiments with BQ and DMBQ covered the concentration ranges 2 mg/l to 1 g/l and 20 mg/l to 1 g/l, respectively. Even the lowest BQ concentration tested (2 mg/l) was strongly inhibitory to yeast, while 20 mg/l DMBQ gave a slight negative effect on ethanol formation. This work shows that benzoquinones should be regarded as potent and widespread inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, and that they warrant attention besides more well-studied inhibitory substances, such as aliphatic carboxylic acids, phenols, and furan aldehydes.

Ozone detoxification of steam-pretreated Norway spruce

BACKGROUND

Pretreatment of lignocellulose for biochemical conversion commonly results in formation of by-products that inhibit microorganisms and cellulolytic enzymes. To make bioconversion processes more efficient, inhibition problems can be alleviated through conditioning. Ozone is currently commercially employed in pulp and paper production for bleaching, as it offers the desirable capability to disrupt unsaturated bonds in lignin through an ionic reaction known as ozonolysis. Ozonolysis is more selective towards lignin than cellulose, for instance, when compared to other oxidative treatment methods, such as Fenton's reagent. Ozone may thus have desirable properties for conditioning of pretreated lignocellulose without concomitant degradation of cellulose or sugars. Ozone treatment of SO2-impregnated steam-pretreated Norway spruce was explored as a potential approach to decrease inhibition of yeast and cellulolytic enzymes. This novel approach was furthermore compared to some of the most effective methods for conditioning of pretreated lignocellulose, i.e., treatment with alkali and sodium dithionite.

RESULTS

Low dosages of ozone decreased the total contents of phenolics to about half of the initial value and improved the fermentability. Increasing ozone dosages led to almost proportional increase in the contents of total acids, including formic acid, which ultimately led to poor fermentability at higher ozone dosages. The decrease of the contents of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural was inversely proportional (R (2) > 0.99) to the duration of the ozone treatment, but exhibited no connection with the fermentability. Ozone detoxification was compared with other detoxification methods and was superior to treatment with Fenton's reagent, which exhibited no positive effect on fermentability. However, ozone detoxification was less efficient than treatment with alkali or sodium dithionite. High ozone dosages decreased the inhibition of cellulolytic enzymes as the glucose yield was improved with 13 % compared to that of an untreated control.

CONCLUSIONS

Low dosages of ozone were beneficial for the fermentation of steam-pretreated Norway spruce, while high dosages decreased the inhibition of cellulolytic enzymes by soluble components in the pretreatment liquid. While clearly of interest for conditioning of lignocellulosic hydrolysates, future challenges include finding conditions that provide beneficial effects both with regard to enzymatic saccharification and microbial fermentation.

Identification of Small Aliphatic Aldehydes in Pretreated Lignocellulosic Feedstocks and Evaluation of Their Inhibitory Effects on Yeast

Six lignocellulosic hydrolysates produced through acid pretreatment were analyzed for the occurrence of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and glycolaldehyde. Acetaldehyde was found in all six (0.3-1.6 mM) and formaldehyde in four (≤ 4.4 mM), whereas glycolaldehyde was not detected. To assess the relevance of these findings, fermentations with yeast and formaldehyde or acetaldehyde were performed in the concentration interval 0.5-10 mM. Formaldehyde already inhibited at 1.0 mM, whereas 5.0 mM acetaldehyde was needed to obtain a clear inhibitory effect. After 24 h of fermentation, 1.5 mM formaldehyde reduced the glucose consumption by 85%, the balanced ethanol yield by 92%, and the volumetric productivity by 91%. The results show that formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are prevalent in pretreated lignocellulose and that formaldehyde in some cases could explain a large part of the inhibitory effects on yeast by lignocellulosic hydrolysates, as three of six hydrolysates contained ≥ 1.9 mM formaldehyde, which was shown to be strongly inhibitory.

Techno-economic evaluation of conditioning with sodium sulfite for bioethanol production from softwood

Conditioning with reducing agents allows alleviation of inhibition of biocatalytic processes by toxic by-products generated during biomass pretreatment, without necessitating the introduction of a separate process step. In this work, conditioning of steam-pretreated spruce with sodium sulfite made it possible to lower the yeast and enzyme dosages in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) to 1g/L and 5FPU/g WIS, respectively. Techno-economic evaluation indicates that the cost of sodium sulfite can be offset by benefits resulting from a reduction of either the yeast load by 0.68g/L or the enzyme load by 1FPU/g WIS. As those thresholds were surpassed, inclusion of conditioning can be justified. Another potential benefit results from shortening the SSF time, which would allow reducing the bioreactor volume and result in capital savings. Sodium sulfite conditioning emerges as an opportunity to lower the financial uncertainty and compensate the overall investment risk for commercializing a softwood-to-ethanol process.

The interplay between sympathetic overactivity, hypertension and heart rate variability (review, invited)

The control of arterial pressure is a complex interaction of the long- and short-term influences of hormones, local vascular factors, and neural mechanisms. The autonomic nervous system and its sympathetic arm play important roles in the regulation of blood pressure, and overactivity of sympathetic nerves may have an important role in the development of hypertension and related cardiovascular disorders. The baroreceptor system opposes either increases or decreases in arterial pressure, and the primary purpose of the arterial baroreflex is to keep blood pressure close to a particular set point over a relatively short period of time. The ability of the baroreflex to powerfully buffer acute changes in arterial pressure is well established, but the role of the arterial baroreceptor reflex in long-term control of arterial pressure has been a topic of many debate and controversy for decades. The sympathetic nervous system and arterial baroreceptor reflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity has been proposed to play a role in long-term control of arterial pressure. The aim of this paper has been to review the postulated role of sympathetic activation.

Comparison of methods for detoxification of spruce hydrolysate for bacterial cellulose production

Background

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a nanostructured material with unique properties and wide applicability. In order to decrease the production cost of bacterial cellulose, lignocellulose-based media have considerable potential as alternative cost-effective feedstocks. However, pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose to sugars also generate fermentation inhibitors. Detoxification of lignocellulosic hydrolysates is needed to achieve efficient production of BC. In this investigation, different methods for detoxification of spruce hydrolysate prior to production of BC were compared with respect to effects on potential inhibitors and fermentable sugars, sugar consumption, BC yield, and cell viability. The objectives were to identify efficient detoxification methods and to achieve a better understanding of the role played by different inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates.

Results

In a first series of experiments, the detoxification methods investigated included treatments with activated charcoal, alkali [sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide (overliming), and ammonium hydroxide], anion and cation ion-exchange resins, and reducing agents (sodium sulfite and sodium dithionite). A second series of detoxification experiments included enzymatic treatments (laccase and peroxidase). The potential inhibitors studied included aliphatic acids, furan aldehydes, and phenolic compounds. The best effects in the first series of detoxification experiments were achieved with activated charcoal and anion exchanger. After detoxification with activated charcoal the BC yield was 8.2 g/L, while it was 7.5 g/L in a reference medium without inhibitors. Treatments with anion exchanger at pH 10 and pH 5.5 gave a BC yield of 7.9 g/L and 6.3 g/L, respectively. The first series of experiments suggested that there was a relationship between the BC yield and phenolic inhibitors. Therefore, the second series of detoxification experiments focused on treatments with phenol-oxidizing enzymes. The BC yield in the laccase-detoxified hydrolysate reached 5.0-5.5 g/L after 14 days cultivation, which demonstrated the important inhibitory role played by phenolic compounds.

Conclusions

The investigation shows that detoxification methods that efficiently remove phenolics benefit bacterial growth and BC production. Negative effects of salts could not be excluded and the osmotolerance of Gluconacetobacter xylinus needs to be further investigated in the future. Combinations of detoxification methods that efficiently decrease the concentration of inhibitors remain as an interesting option.

Detoxification of lignocellulosic hydrolysates using sodium borohydride

Addition of sodium borohydride to a lignocellulose hydrolysate of Norway spruce affected the fermentability when cellulosic ethanol was produced using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Treatment of the hydrolysate with borohydride improved the ethanol yield on consumed sugar from 0.09 to 0.31 g/g, the balanced ethanol yield from 0.02 to 0.30 g/g, and the ethanol productivity from 0.05 to 0.57 g/(L×h). Treatment of a sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate gave similar results, and the experiments indicate that sodium borohydride is suitable for chemical in situ detoxification. The model inhibitors coniferyl aldehyde, p-benzoquinone, 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone, and furfural were efficiently reduced by treatment with sodium borohydride, even under mild reaction conditions (20 °C and pH 6.0). While addition of sodium dithionite to pretreatment liquid from spruce improved enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, addition of sodium borohydride did not. This result indicates that the strong hydrophilicity resulting from sulfonation of inhibitors by dithionite treatment was particularly important for alleviating enzyme inhibition.

Production of bacterial cellulose and enzyme from waste fiber sludge

BACKGROUND

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a highly crystalline and mechanically stable nanopolymer, which has excellent potential as a material in many novel applications, especially if it can be produced in large amounts from an inexpensive feedstock. Waste fiber sludge, a residue with little or no value, originates from pulp mills and lignocellulosic biorefineries. A high cellulose and low lignin content contributes to making the fiber sludge suitable for bioconversion, even without a thermochemical pretreatment step. In this study, the possibility to combine production of BC and hydrolytic enzymes from fiber sludge was investigated. The BC was characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, and its mechanical properties were investigated.

RESULTS

Bacterial cellulose and enzymes were produced through sequential fermentations with the bacterium Gluconacetobacter xylinus and the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Fiber sludges from sulfate (SAFS) and sulfite (SIFS) processes were hydrolyzed enzymatically without prior thermochemical pretreatment and the resulting hydrolysates were used for BC production. The highest volumetric yields of BC from SAFS and SIFS were 11 and 10 g/L (DW), respectively. The BC yield on initial sugar in hydrolysate-based medium reached 0.3 g/g after seven days of cultivation. The tensile strength of wet BC from hydrolysate medium was about 0.04 MPa compared to about 0.03 MPa for BC from a glucose-based reference medium, while the crystallinity was slightly lower for BC from hydrolysate cultures. The spent hydrolysates were used for production of cellulase with T. reesei. The cellulase activity (CMCase activity) in spent SAFS and SIFS hydrolysates reached 5.2 U/mL (87 nkat/mL), which was similar to the activity level obtained in a reference medium containing equal amounts of reducing sugar.

CONCLUSIONS

It was shown that waste fiber sludge is a suitable raw material for production of bacterial cellulose and enzymes through sequential fermentation. The concept studied offers efficient utilization of the various components in fiber sludge hydrolysates and affords a possibility to combine production of two high value-added products using residual streams from pulp mills and biorefineries. Cellulase produced in this manner could tentatively be used to hydrolyze fresh fiber sludge to obtain medium suitable for production of BC in the same biorefinery.

Improving the fermentability of enzymatic hydrolysates of lignocellulose through chemical in-situ detoxification with reducing agents

Inhibitory lignocellulose hydrolysates were treated with the reducing agents dithionite and sulfite to achieve improved fermentability. Addition of these reducing agents (in the concentration range 5.0-17.5 mM) to enzymatic hydrolysates of spruce wood or sugarcane bagasse improved processes based on both SHF (simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation) and SSF (simultaneous saccharification and fermentation). The approach was exemplified in ethanolic fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and by using hydrolysates with sugar concentrations>100 g/L (for SHF) and with 10% dry-matter content (for SSF). In the SHF experiments, treatments with dithionite raised the ethanol productivities of the spruce hydrolysate from 0.2 to 2.5 g×L(-1)×h(-1) and of the bagasse hydrolysate from 0.9 to 3.9 g×L(-1)×h(-1), values even higher than those of fermentations with reference sugar solutions without inhibitors. Benefits of the approach include that the addition of the reducing agent can be made in-situ directly in the fermentation vessel, that the treatment can be performed at a temperature and pH suitable for fermentation, and that the treatment results in dramatically improved fermentability without degradation of fermentable sugars. The many benefits and the simplicity of the approach offer a new way to achieve more efficient manufacture of fermentation products from lignocellulose hydrolysates.