Synthesis of dietary lipids from pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo. L) oil obtained by enzymatic extraction: a sustainable approach

This study aimed to assess the nutritional properties of dietary lipids obtained through the modification of aqueous enzymatically extracted pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo. L) oil. The optimal growth conditions for producing pectinase using strain Aspergillus sp. 391 were determined, and partial characterization of pectinase and commercial cellulase was conducted. The enzymatic extraction was performed at pH 4.0, 50 °C, for 24 h, using a combination of pectinase and cellulase for optimum effectiveness. The crude oil obtained was analyzed for acid, peroxide, and fatty acid composition. The study found a high amount of unsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid (C18:2), and a 59% oil recovery rate. Subsequently, this oil was subjected to enzymatic acidolysis with capric acid in solvent-free media, catalyzed by lipase Lipozyme RM IM®, resulting in a product with a higher incorporation degree (48.39 ± 0.5 mol%), observed after 24 h at 60 °C using molar ratio oil:acid capric of 1:9 (run 4). The nutritional properties of this oil were improved.

Bioimprinted lipase-catalyzed synthesis of medium- and long-chain structured lipids rich in docosahexaenoic acid for infant formula

Medium- and long-chain structured lipids (MLSLs) rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were obtained in shorter reaction time by acidolysis of single-cell oil (DHASCO) from Schizochytrium sp. with caprylic acid (CA) using a lipase bioimprinted with fatty acids as a catalyst. The conditions for preparation of the bioimprinted lipase for the acidolysis reaction were firstly optimized and the activity of the obtained lipase was 2.17 times higher than that of the non-bioimprinted. The bioimprinted lipase was then used as a catalyst and the reaction conditions were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the equilibrium could be achieved in 4 h, and the total and sn-1,3 CA contents in the product were 29.18% and 42.34%, respectively, and the total and sn-2 DHA contents were 46.26% and 70.12%, respectively. Such MLSLs rich in sn-1,3 CA and sn-2 DHA are beneficial for DHA absorption, and thus have potential for use in infant formula.

Fabrication of immobilized lipases for efficient preparation of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol

This study aims to fabricate immobilized lipases for efficient preparation of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl-glycerol (OPO) through acidolysis of glycerol tripalmitate (PPP). Twelve (three types) supports and five lipases were studied carefully. Among them, the immobilized Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase (TLL) samples exhibited overall better performance than that of other immobilized lipases. Particularly, organic groups functionalized SBA-15 (R-SBA-15) supported TLL (TLL@R-SBA-15) samples gave PPP conversion from 97.70 to 99.00 % and OPO content from 59.52 to 64.73 %. After optimization, PPP conversion up to 99.07 %, OPO content 73.15 % and sn-2 palmitic acid content 90.09 % were obtained with TLL@C₁₈H₃₇-SBA-15 as catalyst. Moreover, TLL@C₁₈H₃₇-SBA-15 exhibited better acidolysis performance from 50 °C than that from 60 to 80 °C, which helped inhibit acyl migration. In addition, after 5 cycles of reuse, TLL@C₁₈H₃₇-SBA-15 retained 81.04 % (based on OPO content) and 98.88 % (based on sn-2 palmitic acid content) of its initial activity, indicating it had an attractive prospect in future applications.

Research progress of diosgenin extraction from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright: Inspiration of novel method with environmental protection and efficient characteristics

Diosgenin was the starting materials to synthesize various hormone drugs and mainly generated from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright by acidolysis, enzymolysis, microbiological fermentation, and integrated manner. Only acidic hydrolysis with strong acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid was used in practice in diosgenin enterprises due to their feasibility and simplicity, nevertheless finally resulting in a great deal of unmanageable wastewater and severely polluted the surrounding environment. Aiming to provide a comprehensive and up-to date information of researches on diosgenin production from this plant, 151 cases were collected from scientific databases including Web of Science, Pubmed, Science Direct, Wiley, Springer, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Their advantages and disadvantages with different production methods were analyzed based on these available data in this review paper. Considering the fact that nearly all of diosgenin enterprises were closed for the environmental protection and the life health of the people, this review paper was beneficial for providing useful guidelines to develop novel technologies with environmentally-friendly and cleaner features for diosgenin production or facilitate the transformation of other methods like enzymolysis, microbiological fermentation, or integrated methods from laboratory scale to industry scale.

Efficient preparation of cellulose nanocrystals with a high yield through simultaneous acidolysis with a heat-moisture treatment

This study developed a novel method for the facile and efficient preparation of the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) by using a simultaneous collaborative process combining sulfuric acid hydrolysis and heat-moisture treatment. In this work, we significantly reduced acid dosage compared to conventional acid solution hydrolysis methods to prepare CNCs. The weight of diluted sulfuric acid is no more than 25% on dry basis weight of microcrystalline cellulose. In a relatively short time (2 h), the yield could reach 93.68%, which is higher than the existing methods. The obtained CNCs displayed a normal rod-like shape (100 nm) and unusual spherical shape (10 nm) and showed high relative crystallinity ranged from 70.92% to 81.13%. The combination of acidolysis and heat-moisture treatment may be an economical and effective method for large-scale production of CNCs and provides a new method for preparing short CNCs, which can be used in membrane strengthening and food packages.

Application of multistage induced electric field for acid hydrolysis of starch in a continuous-flow reactor

Herein, a multistage induced electric field (IEF) combined with a continuous-flow reactor was utilized to assist the acid hydrolysis of corn, potato, and waxy corn starch for avoiding plate corrosion and heavy metal leakage. It was found that adding IEF stages was beneficial to improve the hydrolysis efficiency. Treating potato, corn, and waxy corn starch via continuous-flow IEF increased the reducing sugar contents up to 78.76 %, 57.86 %, and 66.18 %, respectively. The electrical conductivity of starch grew with the reaction stages, while starch yield demonstrated the opposite trend. Treated starch had higher solubility and gelatinization peak temperature than native starch, with the gelatinization enthalpy showing fluctuations. Meanwhile, the swelling power decreased as the number of IEF stages was increased. Observations of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the treated starch became more ordered, and crystalline regions were destroyed to various degrees with pores forming on particle surfaces. These variations could be attributed to acid hydrolysis and IEF.

Effect on purine releasement of Lentinus edodes by different food processing techniques

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Freeze-drying could notably decrease the purine release from lentinus edodes.

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Roast-drying reduced guanine and adenine levels in lentinus edodes.

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Roast-drying raised the level of strong uricogenic purine hypoxanthine in lentinus edodes.

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The total purine content was higher than that of raw LE after moist heating.

Lentinus edodes (LE) is very popular in the world and also considered as high purine food. However, few focuses on purine types and its change during food processing. Here, we first compared 3 drying techniques, including roast-drying, freeze-drying, sun-drying on purine contents of LE by using acidolysis and HPLC. It showed that adenine decreased significantly after roast-drying (120 °C), which may be caused by thermal damage of DNA. Total purine decreased significantly after freeze-drying, while roast-dried and sun-dried LE remained unchanged. The effect of moist heat (boiling) on LE purine were also evaluated. Total purine increased due to xanthine increasement (331.72 ± 50.07%). And purine contents transferred into boiled liquid was higher than that in boiled solid. Compared with sun-dry and roast-dry processing, freeze-drying could notably affect the purine release from LE and decrease purine contents. Therefore, freeze-drying is recommended for process techniques for hyperuricemia and gouts populations.

Serine/Threonine Ligation and Cysteine/Penicillamine Ligation

Serine/threonine ligation (STL) and cysteine/penicillamine ligation (CPL) are highly chemo- and regioselective reactions between unprotected peptides with C-terminus salicylaldehyde esters and unprotected peptides with N-terminus serine/threonine or cysteine/penicillamine, which serve as powerful tools for cyclic peptide natural product and chemical protein synthesis. Herein, we introduce the preparation of C-terminal peptide salicylaldehyde esters, serine/threonine ligation, cysteine/penicillamine ligation, and subsequent acidolysis.

Bioleaching of copper and nickel from mobile phone printed circuit board using Aspergillus fumigatus A2DS

The recovery of metals from electronic waste was investigated by using fungal strain Aspergillus fumigatus A2DS, isolated from the mining industry wastewater. Fifty-seven percent of copper and 32% of nickel were leached (analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)) by the organism after one-step leaching at a temperature of 30 °C (shaking condition for 7 days). Maximum % of copper and nickel were obtained at a pH of 6 (58.7% Cu and 32% Ni), the temperature of 40 °C (61.8% Cu and 27.07% Ni), a pulp density of 0.5% (62% Cu and 42.37% Ni), and inoculums of 1% (58% Cu and 32.29% Ni). The XRD pattern of PCB showed 77.6% of copper containing compounds. XRD analysis of the leachate residue showed only 23.2% Euchorite (ASCu2H7O8) and 9.4% other copper containing compounds, indicating the leaching property of the fungus. HPLC analysis of the spent medium showed the presence of different acids like citric, succinic, and fumaric acid. The FTIR spectrum showed a decrease in carboxylic stretching in the leachate produced after bioleaching using spent medium. ICPOES of the leachate obtained using spent medium showed that 61% of the copper and 35% of nickel were leached out after seven days of incubation at shaking condition and 57% of copper and 32.8% of nickel at static condition confirming acidolysis property of the strain. A. fumigatus A2DS metal absorption and adsorption ability were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) respectively. The results thus indicate that bioleaching of Cu and Ni is bioleached by A. fumigatus A2DS.

Identifying the Interunit Linkages Connecting Free Phenolic Terminal Units in Lignin

Understanding the linkages connecting phenolic terminal and nonphenolic units in complex branched polymer, lignin, is crucial to facilitate efficient and selective valorization of lignin. In this study, the interunit linkages connecting phenolic units are identified by premethylation of the phenolic hydroxy groups and thioacidolysis-desulfuration. Interestingly, the phenolic units are found to be connected by only β-5, β-1, and β-O-4 linkages. The phenolic unit abundance is approximately 20 %. The result reveals that lignin polymerization terminates with the three linkages by a coupling between a monomer and the polymer terminus, which is reasonably explained by the radical coupling mechanism. Unexpectedly, 5-5, 4-O-5, and β-β linkages connecting the phenolic units are not detected, indicating that these units are further elongated to form nonphenolic units. This study reveals the linkage types connecting phenolic and nonphenolic units and their elongation mechanisms.

Production of feruloylated lysophospholipids via a one-step enzymatic interesterification

Incorporation of ferulic acid (FA) into egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (PC) in a lipase-catalyzed acidolysis and interesterification process was studied using four commercially available immobilized lipases as catalysts and two acyl donors: ferulic acid (FA) and ethyl ferulate (EF). Novozym 435 and a binary solvent system of toluene/chloroform 9:1 (v/v) were found to be the most suitable biocatalyst and medium, respectively, and significantly increased the incorporation of FA into the phospholipid fraction. Subsequently response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design were employed to evaluate the effects of substrate molar ratio, enzyme loading and time of the reaction on the process of interesterification. The selected optimized parameters were established as PC/EF molar ratio 1/15, enzyme load 30% (w/w) and incubation time 6 days. The process of interesterification at the optimized parameters carried out on a large scale afforded feruloylated lysophosphatidylcholine (FLPC) in high isolated yield of 62% (w/w).

Preparation of DHA-Rich Medium- and Long-Chain Triacylglycerols by Lipase-Catalyzed Acidolysis of Microbial Oil from Schizochytrium sp.with Medium-Chain Fatty Acids

DHA-rich medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols (MLCT) were produced by lipase-catalyzed acidolysis of microbial oil from Schizochytrium sp. with medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). Four commercial lipases, i.e., NS40086, Novozym 435, Lipozyme RM IM, and Lipozyme TL IM were screened based on their activity and fatty acid specificity. The selected conditions for MLCT synthesis were Lipozyme RM IM as catalyst, reaction time 6 h, lipase load 8 wt%, substrate molar ratio (MCFA/microbial oil) 3:1, and temperature 55 °C. Under the selected conditions, the lipase could be reused successively for 17 cycles without significant loss of lipase activity. The obtained product contained 27.53% MCFA, 95.29% at sn-1,3 positions, and 44.70% DHA, 69.77% at sn-2 position. Fifty-nine types of triacylglycerols (TAG) were identified, in which 35 types of TAG contained MCFA, the content accounting for 55.35%. This product enriched with DHA at sn-2 position and MCFA at sn-1,3 positions can improve its digestion and absorption under an infant's digestive system, and thus has potential to be used in infant formula to increase the bioavailability of DHA.

Bioelectrochemical acidolysis of magnesia to induce struvite crystallization for recovering phosphorus from aqueous solution

A novel struvite crystallization method induced by bioelectrochemical acidolysis of magnesia (MgO) was investigated to recover phosphorus (P) from aqueous solution using a dual-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (DMEC). Magnesium ion (Mg²⁺) in the anolyte was firstly confirmed to automatically migrate from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber, and then react with ammonium (NH₄⁺) and phosphate (PO₄^3-) in the catholyte to form struvite. Recovery efficiency of 17.8%-60.2% was obtained with the various N/P ratios in the catholyte. When MgO (low solubility under alkali conditions) was added into the anolyte, the bioelectrochemical acidolysis of MgO naturally took place and the released Mg²⁺ induced struvite crystallization in the cathode chamber for P recovery likewise. Besides, there was a strong linear positive correlation between the recovery efficiency and the MgO dosage (R² = 0.935), applied voltage (R² = 0.969) and N/P ratio (R² = 0.905). Increasing the applied voltage was found to enhance the P recovery via promoting the MgO acidolysis and the released Mg²⁺ migration, while increasing the N/P ratio in the catholyte enhanced the P recovery via promoting the struvite crystallization. Moreover, the electrochemical performance of the system was promoted due to more stable anolyte pH and lower pH gradient between the two chambers. Current density was promoted by 10%, while the COD removal efficiency was improved from 78.2% to 91.8% in the anode chamber.

Electrochemical acidolysis of magnesite to induce struvite crystallization for recovering phosphorus from aqueous solution

A novel struvite crystallization method induced by electrochemical acidolysis of cheap magnesite was investigated to recover phosphorus from aqueous solution. Magnesite was confirmed to continuously dissolve in the anolyte whose pH stabilized at about 2. Driven by the electrical field force, over 90% of the released Mg²⁺ migrated to the cathode chamber via passing through the cation exchange membrane. The pH of the phosphate-containing aqueous solution in the cathode chamber was elevated to the appropriate pH fit for struvite crystallization. The products were identified as struvite crystals by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Increasing the magnesite dosage from 0.83 to 3.33 g L^-1 promoted the phosphorus recovery efficiency from 2.2% to 78.3% at 3 d, which was attributed to sufficient Mg²⁺ supply. Increasing the applied voltage from 3 to 6 V improved the recovery efficiency from 43.6% to 76.4% at 1 d, since the enhanced current density of the electrochemical system markedly accelerated both the magnesite acidolysis and the catholyte pH elevation. The initial catholyte pH between 3 and 5 was found to benefit the phosphorus recovery due to the final catholyte pH fit for the struvite crystallization.

Synthesis of designer triglycerides by enzymatic acidolysis

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Synthesis of modified fats by enzymatic acidolysis of fully hydrogenated soybean oil with caprylic acid.

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Indigenously immobilized sn 1,3 specific lipase used as catalyst.

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Production of modified fats in shortened reaction time.

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Significant change in the physico-chemical properties of newly formed product as observed using DSC and XRD analysis.

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Synthesized product has potential to be used in formulation of functional foods.

Enzymatic acidolysis process was developed for modification of fully hydrogenated soybean oil (FHSO) by incorporation of caprylic acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Immobilized sn-1,3 specific lipase PyLip was used to modify FHSO to produce a new fat with improved physico-chemical and functional properties. PyLip mediated acidolysis resulted in 88% reduction of substrate triglycerides and 45.16% incorporation of caprylic acid in FHSO at molar ratio of 1:3 of FHSO and caprylic acid in 60 min reaction time. HPLC analysis revealed formation of mono-substituted and di-substituted TAGs post enzymatic acidolysis. Physical properties of synthesized lipid were studied using DSC and XRD and considerable change was observed in the final product compared to the starting material. The present study reports a faster acidolysis process in the presence of solvent enhancing the modification of FHSO with caprylic acid and having no side products formation (monoglycerides and diglycerides) making the entire process highly efficient and commercially attaractive.

Production of new human milk fat substitutes by enzymatic acidolysis of microalgae oils from Nannochloropsis oculata and Isochrysis galbana

Human milk fat substitutes (HMFs) with four kinds of n-3 fatty acid for infant formula were firstly synthesized using triacylglycerols (TAGs) from Nannochloropsis oculata rich in PA at the sn-2 position and free fatty acids (FFAs) from Isochrysis galbana rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs-ALA/SDA/DHA) via solvent-free acidolysis with Novozym 435, Lipozyme 435, TL-IM and RM-IM as biocatalysts. The results show that the resulting HMFs contain total n-3 PUFA of 13.92-17.12% and PA of 59.38-68.13% at the sn-2 position under the optimal conditions (mole ratio FFAs/TAG 3:1, 60°C (Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL-IM) and 50°C (Lipozyme 435 and RM-IM), lipase loading 10%, reaction time 24h). Moreover, among the tested enzymes, Lipozyme 435, TL-IM, and RM-IM display the fatty acid selectivity towards SDA, LA and ALA, and OA, respectively. Overall, the examined lipases are promising biocatalysts for producing high-value microalgal HMFs in a cost-effective manner.

Scale-up and process integration of sugar production by acidolysis of municipal solid waste/corn stover blends in ionic liquids

BACKGROUND

Lignocellulosic biorefineries have tonnage and throughput requirements that must be met year round and there is no single feedstock available in any given region that is capable of meeting the price and availability demands of the biorefineries scheduled for deployment. Significant attention has been historically given to agriculturally derived feedstocks; however, a diverse range of wastes, including municipal solid wastes (MSW), also have the potential to serve as feedstocks for the production of advanced biofuels and have not been extensively studied. In addition, ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment with certain ILs is receiving great interest as a potential process that enables fractionation of a wide range of feedstocks. Acid catalysts have been used previously to hydrolyze polysaccharides into fermentable sugars following IL pretreatment, which could potentially provide a means of liberating fermentable sugars from lignocellulose without the use of costly enzymes. However, successful optimization and scale-up of the one-pot acid-assisted IL deconstruction for further commercialization involve challenges such as reactor compatibility, mixing at high solid loading, sugar recovery, and IL recycling, which have not been effectively resolved during the development stages at bench scale.

RESULTS

Here, we present the successful scale-up demonstration of the acid-assisted IL deconstruction on feedstock blends of municipal solid wastes and agricultural residues (corn stover) by 30-fold, relative to the bench scale (6 vs 0.2 L), at 10% solid loading. By integrating IL pretreatment and acid hydrolysis with subsequent centrifugation and extraction, the sugar and lignin products can be further recovered efficiently. This scale-up development at Advanced Biofuels/Bioproducts Process Demonstration Unit (ABPDU) will leverage the opportunity and synergistic efforts toward developing a cost-effective IL-based deconstruction technology by drastically eliminating enzyme, reducing water usage, and simplifying the downstream sugar/lignin recovery and IL recycling.

CONCLUSION

Results indicate that MSW blends are viable and valuable resource to consider when assessing biomass availability and affordability for lignocellulosic biorefineries. This scale-up evaluation demonstrates that the acid-assisted IL deconstruction technology can be effectively scaled up to larger operations and the current study established the baseline of scaling parameters for this process.

Propylsulfonic and arenesulfonic functionalized SBA-15 silica as an efficient and reusable catalyst for the acidolysis of soybean oil with medium-chain fatty acids

The objective of this work was to develop a feasible ecofriendly process to produce medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA)-enriched structured lipids (SLs) in heterogeneous manners. For this purpose, the propyl-SO3H or arene-SO3H-modified SBA-15 materials were prepared through a surface functionalization of SBA-15 silica with propyl-SO3H and arene-SO3H groups. The organosulfonic acid-functionalized SBA-15 materials were characterized by Brönsted acidity determination, elemental analysis, XRD, C(13) MAS NMR, FT-IR, SEM, TG, TEM, and N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. Results showed that the propyl-SO3H and arene-SO3H groups were successfully tethered on the SBA-15 support, and the ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15 silica was well retained after the organofunctionalization. This organic-inorganic hybrid material displayed high surface acidities and high activities in the acidolysis of soybean oil with caprylic or capric acid to produce SLs containing MCFAs. The influences of processing parameters on the reaction were investigated. The two studied catalysts showed an excellent recyclability for the reaction.

Blending municipal solid waste with corn stover for sugar production using ionic liquid process

Municipal solid waste (MSW) represents an attractive cellulosic resource for sustainable fuel production. However, its heterogeneity is the major barrier to efficient conversion to biofuels. MSW paper mix was generated and blended with corn stover (CS). It has been shown that both of them can be efficiently pretreated in certain ionic liquids (ILs) with high yields of fermentable sugars. After pretreatment in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2C1Im][OAc]), over 80% glucose has been released with enzymatic saccharification. We have also applied an enzyme-free process by adding mineral acid and water directly into the IL/biomass slurry to induce hydrolysis. With the acidolysis process in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C2C1Im]Cl), up to 80% glucose and 90% xylose are released. There is a correlation between the viscosity profile and hydrolysis efficiency; low viscosity of the hydrolysate generally corresponds to high sugar yields. Overall, the results indicate the feasibility of incorporating MSW as a robust blending agent for biorefineries.

Ultrasonic pretreatment in lipase-catalyzed synthesis of structured lipids with high 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol content

Production of structured lipid 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol (OPO), from tripalmitin (PPP) and oleic acid (OA) using lipases and ultrasonic pretreatment was conducted. Factors influencing both the ultrasonic conditions and enzymatic reaction were investigated. Optimum conditions could be attained with 6 min pretreatment time, 50% ultrasonic power, 3 s/9 s (work/pause) cycle of ultrasonic pulse, 1:8 PPP/OA molar ratio, 12% enzyme dosage and 50 °C temperature of. At the optimum conditions, the OPO yield of 51.8% could be achieved in 4h. Studies showed that the OPO content increased to 35.9% in 1h with ultrasonic pretreatment, in comparison to 4h without ultrasonic pretreatment. Reuse of Lipozyme RM IM for 10 cycles under ultrasonic irradiation did not cause essential damage to its lipase activity. Reaction kinetic model fitted well with the proposed Ping-Pong mechanism. The apparent kinetic constant (Vm'/K₂) of ultrasound pretreatment reaction was 2.52 times higher than the conventional mechanical stirring, indicating that ultrasound pretreatment enhanced the substrates affinity to the enzyme. This study confirmed that ultrasonic pretreatment was more efficient in OPO production than conventional mechanical agitation.

Immobilized phospholipase A1-catalyzed modification of phosphatidylcholine with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA)-enriched phosphatidylcholine (PC) was successfully produced with fatty acid from fish oil and PC from soybean by immobilized phospholipase A1-catalyzed acidolysis. Detailed studies of immobilization were carried out, and Lewatit VP OC 1600 was selected as a carrier for preparation of immobilized phospholipase A1, which was used for modification of PC by acidolysis. For acidolysis of PC with n-3 PUFA, the effects of several parameters, namely, water content, temperature, and enzyme loading on the reaction time course were investigated to determine optimum conditions. The optimum water content, temperature, and enzyme loading were 1.0%, 55 °C, and 20%, respectively. The highest incorporation (57.4 mol%) of n-3 PUFA into PC was obtained at 24h and the yield of PC was 16.7 mol%. The yield of PC increased significantly by application of vacuum, even though a slight decrease of n-3 PUFA incorporation was observed.

Lignocellulosic ethanol production without enzymes--technoeconomic analysis of ionic liquid pretreatment followed by acidolysis

Deconstruction of polysaccharides into fermentable sugars remains the key challenge in the production of inexpensive lignocellulosic biofuels. Typically, costly enzymatic saccharification of the pretreated biomass is used to depolymerize its cellulosic content into fermentable monomers. In this work, we examined the production of lignocellulosic recovery, a process that does not require the use of enzymes to produce fermentable sugars. In the base case, the minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) was $8.05/gal, but with improved performance of the hydrolysis, extraction, and sugar recovery, the MESP can be lowered to $4.00/gal. Additionally, two scenarios involving lignin recovery were considered. Although the results based on current assumptions indicate that this process is expensive compared to more established technologies, improvements in the hydrolysis yield, the sugar extraction efficiency, and the sugar recovery were shown to result in more competitive processes.