Acid insoluble lignin material production by chemical activation of olive endocarps for an efficient furfural adsorption-removal from aqueous solutions

The present work describes a protocol of chemical activation, with acid catalyst, of olive endocarps to obtain acid insoluble lignin-rich materials with high capacities for the adsorption of furfural present in aqueous media. During biomass activation, factors such as acid concentration, reaction time and temperature, solid/liquid ratio and the presence of water extractives strongly affected both the surface characteristics of the treated bioadsorbents and their capacities for furfural retention (percentage increase close to 600% with respect to the crude biomass). Once a treated solid with good adsorbent properties was obtained, the optimal conditions for adsorption were found: stirring speed 80 rpm, temperature 303 K and adsorbent load 7.5 g solid/50 cm3. Kinetic study indicated the pseudo-second order model provided the best fit of the experimental data. At 303 K, the equilibrium adsorption capacities values ranged from 2.27 mg g-1 to 29.29 mg g-1, for initial furfural concentrations between 0.49 g dm-3 and 12.88 g dm-3. Freundlich model presented the best isotherm (R2 = 0.996 and SE = 4.7%) providing KF and n values of 0.115 (mg g-1) (mg dm-3)-n and 0.610, respectively. Since physical interactions predominate in the adsorption of furfural on chemically activated olive endocarps, the furfural removal process could have occurred reversibly on the heterogeneous surface of the bioadsorbents.

Bioconversion study for xylitol and ethanol production by Debaryomyces hansenii: aeration, medium and substrate composition influence

Debaryomyces hansenii has been employed to study, initially, the influence of the oxygen availability on D-xylose to xylitol fermentation, as this parameter is considered as one of the most critical variables for this bio alcohol accumulation. Apart from the air supplied in the fermentation process through the stirring vortex (0.0 v/v/min), additional aeration rates (0.1-2.0 v/v/min) effects were discussed. Furthermore, a change in the fermentative medium composition as well as a comparative analysis of D. hansenii behavior with respect to fermentation of D-glucose and D-xylose mixtures solutions, with the aim of producing both xylitol and ethanol bioproducts, were performed. For these purposes, specific growth rates, biomass productivities, specific substrate-uptake rates, overall biomass yields, specific xylitol formation rates and overall xylitol yields values have been calculated, applying a differential method to the kinetic data. Aeration influence was clearly evinced since a faster D-xylose metabolism, for aeration values close to 1.0 v/v/min, was noted. This yeast exhibited a sequential substrate consumption, firstly D-glucose and then D-xylose. The maximum xylitol yield (0.32 kg kg^{- 1}) was obtained for 0.5 v/v/min airflow, remarking a significant reduction of this parameter for both above and below the quoted air supply value.

Improving bioethanol production from olive pruning biomass by deacetylation step prior acid hydrolysis and fermentation processes

In order to produce bioethanol from olive tree pruning biomass, deacetylation was performed employing sodium hydroxide. Optimal conditions were determined using experimental design techniques. The highest acetic acid removal (3.8g/dm(3)), obtained by response surface methodology, was at optimum pretreatment conditions of temperature 60°C, 0.8% NaOH and residence time 60min. After oxalic acid hydrolysis of pretreated biomass, the hydrolysates were directly used for ethanol production without further detoxification process. Ethanol yields ranged from 0.19 to 0.45g/g, reaching the maximum yield value when pretreatment was carried out at 130°C with 100mM oxalic acid, involving a combined severity factor (CSF) of 1.05. The highest ethanol concentration obtained from pretreated biomass was 6.2g/dm(3) at 150°C, using 75mM of oxalic acid (CSF=1.53).

Ethanol and xylitol production by fermentation of acid hydrolysate from olive pruning with Candida tropicalis NBRC 0618

Olive tree pruning biomass has been pretreated with pressurized steam, hydrolysed with hydrochloric acid, conditioned and afterwards fermented using the non-traditional yeast Candida tropicalis NBRC 0618. The main aim of this study was to analyse the influence of acid concentration on the hydrolysis process and its effect on the subsequent fermentation to produce ethanol and xylitol. From the results, it could be deduced that both total sugars and d-glucose recovery were enhanced by increasing the acid concentration tested; almost the whole hemicellulose fraction was hydrolysed when 3.77% was used. It has been observed a sequential production first of ethanol, from d-glucose, and then xylitol from d-xylose. The overall ethanol and xylitol yields ranged from 0.27 to 0.38kgkg(-1), and 0.12 to 0.23kgkg(-1) respectively, reaching the highest values in the fermentation of the hydrolysates obtained with hydrochloric acid 2.61% and 1.11%, respectively.

Monomeric carbohydrates production from olive tree pruning biomass: modeling of dilute acid hydrolysis

Statistical modeling and optimization of dilute sulfuric acid hydrolysis of olive tree pruning biomass has been performed using response surface methodology. Central composite rotatable design was applied to assess the effect of acid concentration, reaction time and temperature on efficiency and selectivity of hemicellulosic monomeric carbohydrates to d-xylose. Second-order polynomial model was fitted to experimental data to find the optimum reaction conditions by multiple regression analysis. The monomeric d-xylose recovery 85% (as predicted by the model) was achieved under optimized hydrolysis conditions (1.27% acid concentration, 96.5°C and 138 min), confirming the high validity of the developed model. The content of d-glucose (8.3%) and monosaccharide degradation products (0.1% furfural and 0.04% 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) provided a high quality subtract, ready for subsequent biochemical conversion to value-added products.

Detoxification of rice straw and olive tree pruning hemicellulosic hydrolysates employing Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its effect on the ethanol production by Pichia stipitis

The aim of this work was to study the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) to metabolize a variety of aromatic compounds found in rice straw (RSHH) and olive tree pruning (OTHH) hemicellulosic hydrolysates, obtained by acid hydrolysis at different sugar and toxic compound concentrations. Initially, the hydrolysates were inoculated with S. cerevisiae (10 g L(-1)) and incubated at 30 °C under agitation at 200 rpm for 6 h. The results showed that this yeast was able to utilize phenolic and furan compounds in both hemicellulose hydrolysates. Next, the treated hydrolysates were inoculated with Pichia stipitis NRRL Y-7124 to evaluate the effect of biotransformation of aromatic compounds on ethanol production, and better fermentation results were obtained in this case compared to untreated ones. The untreated hemicellulose hydrolysates were not able to be fermented when they were incubated with Pichia stipitis. However, in RSHH treated hydrolysates, ethanol (Y(P/S)) and biomass (Y(X/S)) yields and volumetric ethanol productivity (Q(P)) were 0.17 g g(-1), 0.15 g g(-1) and 0.09 g L(-1) h(-1), respectively. The OTHH-treated hydrolysates showed less favorable results compared to RSHH, but the fermentation process was favored with regard to untreated hydrolysate. These results showed that the fermentation by P. stipitis in untreated hydrolysates was strongly inhibited by toxic compounds present in the media and that treatment with S. cerevisiae promoted a significant reduction in their toxicities.

Fermentation of acid hydrolysates from olive-tree pruning debris by Pachysolen tannophilus

The influence of the type and concentration of acid in the hydrolysis process and its effect on the subsequent fermentation by Pachysolen tannophilus (ATCC 32691) to produce ethanol and xylitol was studied. The hydrolysis experiments were performed using hydrochloric, sulphuric and trifluoroacetic acids in concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 N, a temperature of 90 degrees C, and a time of 240 min. The fermentation experiments were conducted on a laboratory scale in a batch-culture reactor at pH 4.5 and 30 degrees C. The hydrolysis with the highest acid concentration produced the complete solubilization of hemicellulose to monosaccharides. The highest values for the specific rate of ethanol production were registered in cultures hydrolyzed with trifluoroacetic acid, and values were found to decrease as the acid concentration increased. The highest values of overall ethanol yields (Y(E/s)G = 0.37 kg kg(-1)) were also found in the fermentation of the hydrolysates of trifluoroacetic acid.

The influence of pH and aeration rate on the fermentation of D-xylose by Candida shehatae

The effects of the initial pH and air supply on the production of ethanol from D-xylose using the yeast Candida shehatae in a batch reactor were investigated. The initial pH was altered within the range of 2.5-6.5 and the specific aeration rate from 0.0-0.3 vv-1 min-1. The results showed that the most favorable initial pH for ethanol production was 4.5 and aeration via the stirring vortex of the bioreactor was sufficient. Under these conditions, the maximum specific growth rate (mu(m)) was 0.329 h-1; biomass production rate (b), 0.024 kg m-3 h-1; overall biomass yield (YGx/s), 0.036 kg kg-1; the specific uptake rate of D-xylose (qs), 2.0 kg kg-1 h-1; and the specific ethanol production rate (qE), 0.72 kg kg-1 h-1 (both at 20 h culture time). The average xylitol yield (Yxy/s) was 0.078 kg kg-1 and the overall ethanol yield (YGE/s), 0.41 kg kg-1. Both qs and qE diminished once the exponential growth phase was over.