Feedstock For Production Research Articles

Biodiesel production from the microalgae Nannochloropsis gaditana: Optimization of the transesterification reaction and physicochemical characterization

The current environmental scenario has encouraged the study of renewable and competitive alternative feedstocks for biodiesel production. Microalgae present a significant opportunity as a feedstock that does not require arable land and can be cultivated using wastewater. The paper investigates the optimization of biodiesel production from microalgae Nannochloropsis gaditana bio-oil using response surface methodology and also analyzes the main physicochemical properties of the bio-oil. It was confirmed that this methodology is suitable for materials with low homogeneity. The model is also adequate for determining optimal experimental conditions, resulting in a FAME content of 87.25 %. The biodiesel's physicochemical properties were analyzed. It was discovered that the high degree of unsaturation in the microalgae bio-oil's chemical structure resulted in a narrower temperature range for its application compared to other vegetable sources.

The Effect of Ultrasonication and Delignification Treatment on the Sugar Released Value of Wood

The objective of these research was to study the impact of ultrasonication and delignification pretreatments in several wood species on their easiness for enzymatic hydrolysis, having the potential to be developed as the feedstocks for bioethanol production. Four different wood species from three botanical gardens in Indonesia have been selected, i.e., Gymnostoma sumatranum, Firmiana malayana, Pterocarpus indicus, and Alstonia scholaris, due to their higher sugar released values than a fast-grown tree, Sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria), when all were directly enzymatically hydrolyzed without pretreatment. The sugar released values after ultrasonication and enzymatic hydrolysis were between 3 – 5.5 mg/100 mg wood meal. When delignification pretreatment was performed, the sugar released values were higher than those with ultrasonication, ranging between 4 – 10.2 mg/100 mg wood meal. All the sugar released values after pretreatment were higher than those without pretreatment. Gymnostoma sumatranum was selected as the most potential wood species in this study due to its consistency among the species producing highest sugar released across different treatments. The SEM results showed that there was no significant changes in the morphological structure of the untreated fiber before and after enzymatic saccharification since it still had a complex structure due to the high lignin content. However, after the delignification treatment, the surface morphology of the fiber showed a decrease in the number of pits of the fiber, the surface residual of pits were reduced, parallel lines were more clearly visible, and the fiber structure was damaged with more small holes presented. The surface morphology of the fiber from the wood powder having delignification pretreatment supports the sugar released values which shows that the these values were higher than other treatments due to more recalcitrant substances were degraded, making it was easier for enzymes to break down cellulose. After ultrasonication, the SEM result showed less disrupted cell wall compared to after delignification which confirmed the higher sugar released data with delignification.

Biodiesel production and characteristics from waste frying oils: sources, challenges, and circular economic perspective.

Biodiesel serves as a viable alternative to traditional diesel due to its non-toxicity, biodegradability, and lower environmental footprint. Among the diverse edible and inedible feedstocks, waste frying oil emerges as a promising and affordable feedstock for biodiesel production. Commonly waste frying oils include those derived from palm, corn, sunflower, soybean, rapeseed, and canola. The primary challenge related to biodiesel production technologies is the high production cost, which poses a significant barrier to its widespread adoption. Thus, refining the production techniques is essential to enhance yield, reduce capital expenditure, and curtail raw material expenses. An examination of the research focusing on feedstock availability, production, hurdles, operational expenditures, and future potential is pivotal for identifying the most economically and technically viable solutions. This paper critically reviews such research by exploring feedstock availability, production techniques, challenges, and costs intrinsic to biodiesel synthesis. It also underscores the economic feasibility of biodiesel production, shedding light on the pivotal factors that influence profitability, especially when leveraging waste frying oils. Through an in-depth understanding of these considerations, optimal production and feedstock choices for biodiesel production can be identified. Addressing cost and production bottlenecks could potentially enhance the economic viability of waste frying oil-based biodiesel, thus fostering both environmental sustainability and more extensive adoption of biodiesel as an environmental-friendly fuel in the future.

Feed-in-tariff is key to Japan’s current biomass power’s viability, even with environmental externalities

Bioenergy is increasingly recognized as an effective tool for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, its economic feasibility remains underexplored, particularly when accounting for environmental impacts. This study proposes a quantitative assessment framework to calculate the cost-benefit ratio of biomass power generation and to assess the sustainability of its supporting policy tools, such as feed-in-tariffs (FIT). The framework accounts for benefits through electricity generation and environmental externalities, namely emissions from feedstock production and procurement, such as the transportation of biomass materials. This allows for quantification and a detailed discussion of multiple environmental burdens of biomass energy and economic costs. As a case study, this framework was applied to a hypothetical biomass plant in Japan, which has the fifth-largest biomass market globally. We prepare several scenarios to consider diverse conditions within the Japanese biomass industry, including the types of biomass materials used (pellets versus chips), their sources (domestic versus international), and the biomass technologies employed. The results show that using pellets, predominantly imported, significantly increases biomass energy costs. The increase in cost is directly proportional to the quantity of utilized pellets and their transportation distances. However, pellet production location —whether in Vietnam or Canada—doesn’t significantly change the overall cost calculations in our study. Our result is consistent across various biomass technologies, showing that the high selling price under the feed-in-tariff system, rather than material type, supply origin, or transportation mode, plays the most critical role in economic feasibility, even when accounting for environmental externalities. Thus, decision-makers must reevaluate the efficacy of FIT policies for wood biomass powers, where fuel costs share a substantial portion. We also discuss its synergies with local industries and trade-offs with other land-use objectives.

Kudzu: An invasive plant or a sustainable resource

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi) is a fast growing leguminous vine plant that has strong reproductive ability and low requirements on its growing conditions. It has been considered an invasive plant in some places because of its aggressive growth, which can destroy the habitat for native plants and animals. However, its strong environmental adaptability makes it easily cultivated as a sustainable resource. Kudzu can also keep soil from washing away and play an important role in ecological protection. Kudzu has had numerous practical uses in our daily lives since ancient times. For example, its root, stem, flower and pod are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Its root is a healthy food. And its leaf is used as fodder and forage for livestock. Moreover, some recent studies on kudzu have found that it is in rich of bioactive ingredients, especially isoflavones, which further broadens its uses in medicine, healthy food, and cosmetics industries. Its high starch and cellulose content makes it a promising feedstock for biofuel production and paper preparation. This editorial will give a brief discussion on kudzu and its comprehensive utilization.

Eco-innovation in energy: Solid degradation kinetics of rejected red macroalgae (Kappaphycopsis cottonii) for bio-oil and biochar production

In the pursuit of renewable energy sources, biomass conversion into biofuels has garnered attention as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. This research focuses on the pyrolytic conversion of red macroalgae, specifically rejected Kappaphycus cottonii, an underutilized biomass in Indonesia, into valuable bio-energy carriers, while analyzing the solid degradation kinetics involved. The dried K. cottonii underwent slow pyrolysis at varying temperatures (400–600 °C) and time intervals (10–50 min). The impact of these variables on the yield of bio-oil and biochar, alongside the thermogravimetric profiles indicating mass loss, was thoroughly assessed. The study also explores the chemical kinetics of the decomposition process, utilizing the first-order reaction model to analyze the solid biomass conversion rate, activation energy, and frequency factor. Key findings demonstrate that the optimal pyrolysis temperature for maximizing bio-oil yield was precisely 500 °C, beyond which thermal cracking led to yield reductions. Reaction times also greatly affect yield, highlighting the importance of optimized pyrolysis conditions. The determined activation energy and frequency factor, based on the Arrhenius equation, highlighted K. cottonii's lower decomposition energy barrier relative to terrestrial biomass. This distinction is largely ascribed to its unique chemical makeup, notably a lower lignin content, positioning K. cottonii as an advantageous feedstock for biofuel production through pyrolysis.

Biotechnological Biosuccinic acid (Bio-SA) production from green microalgae Chlorella sp. hydrolysate: Synergistic effect of agitation and substrate concentration assessment using RSM

This paper evaluates the potential of Chlorella sp. microalgae biomass as a feedstock for biosuccinic acid (bio-SA) production via the fermentation process. In this study, the biomass was pretreated and hydrolyzed using a mild acid before being fermented with Actinobacillus succinogenes. The influence of the initial biomass concentration and agitation rate on bio-SA production during batch fermentation was evaluated using a Response Surface Methodology (RSM) design. The results of the study indicated that Chlorella sp. microalgae biomass contained various types of sugars, with glucose identified as the dominant reducing sugar in the Chlorella sp. hydrolysate. According to the RSM analysis, the study showed that changes in the initial biomass concentration and agitation rate could significantly affect bio-SA production from Chlorella sp. hydrolysate. The highest bio-SA concentration of 14.56 g/L with a yield of 0.62 g/g was achieved when fermentation was performed using 10% (w/v) biomass at 150 rpm. Therefore, this study suggests that Chlorella sp. hydrolysate can be an alternative and renewable feedstock for efficient bio-SA production.

Utilizing Waste Cooking Oil for Sustainable Biodiesel Production: A Comprehensive Review

The environmental and economic challenges posed by the over-reliance on fossil fuels have driven the search for alternative and sustainable energy sources. Waste cooking oil (WCO) presents a viable feedstock for biodiesel production, offering a dual solution to waste management and renewable energy generation. This comprehensive review examines the current state of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil, exploring the benefits, challenges, and processes involved. Biodiesel derived from WCO has several environmental advantages, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, biodegradability, and enhanced engine lubricity compared to traditional fossil fuels. Moreover, utilizing it for biodiesel addresses waste disposal issues, reducing the contamination of land and water resources. Despite these benefits, several challenges remain, such as the variability in its composition, contamination, and the need for efficient purification and transesterification processes. The review explores various methods for converting WCO into biodiesel, highlighting the key stages of the transesterification process, including the use of catalysts, alcohols, and reaction conditions. Additionally, advanced techniques such as ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted transesterification are discussed for their potential to increase efficiency and reduce processing time. This paper also addresses the sustainability aspects of biodiesel production from it, emphasizing its role in promoting a circular economy and reducing waste. The use of its contributes to a closed-loop system, where waste is transformed into a valuable resource. Furthermore, the review explores the economic and social impacts of biodiesel production, noting its potential to create jobs, reduce import dependence, and support local communities. In conclusion, this review underscores the significant potential of waste cooking oil in sustainable biodiesel production. It calls for continued research and technological innovation to optimize processes, enhance efficiency, and overcome existing challenges, thereby contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable energy landscape.

Transcriptomic and lipidomic analysis of the differential pathway contribution to the incorporation of erucic acid to triacylglycerol during Pennycress seed maturation.

Thlaspi arvense (Pennycress) is an emerging feedstock for biofuel production because of its high seed oil content enriched in erucic acid. A transcriptomic and a lipidomic study were performed to analyze the dynamics of gene expression, glycerolipid content and acyl-group distribution during seed maturation. Genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis were expressed at the early stages of seed maturation. Genes encoding enzymes of the Kennedy pathway like diacylglycerol acyltransferase1 (TaDGAT1), lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (TaLPAT) or glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase (TaGPAT) increased their expression with maturation, coinciding with the increase in triacylglycerol species containing 22:1. Positional analysis showed that the most abundant triacylglycerol species contained 18:2 at sn-2 position in all maturation stages, suggesting no specificity of the lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase for very long chain fatty acids. Diacylglycerol acyltransferase2 (TaDGAT2) mRNA was more abundant at the initial maturation stages, coincident with the rapid incorporation of 22:1 to triacylglycerol, suggesting a coordination between Diacylglycerol acyltransferase enzymes for triacylglycerol biosynthesis. Genes encoding the phospholipid-diacylglycerol acyltransferase (TaPDAT1), lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (TaLPCAT) or phosphatidylcholine diacylglycerolcholine phosphotransferase (TaPDCT), involved in acyl-editing or phosphatidyl-choline (PC)-derived diacylglycerol (DAG) biosynthesis showed also higher expression at the early maturation stages, coinciding with a higher proportion of triacylglycerol containing C18 fatty acids. These results suggested a higher contribution of these two pathways at the early stages of seed maturation. Lipidomic analysis of the content and acyl-group distribution of diacylglycerol and phosphatidyl-choline pools was compatible with the acyl content in triacylglycerol at the different maturation stages. Our data point to a model in which a strong temporal coordination between pathways and isoforms in each pathway, both at the expression and acyl-group incorporation, contribute to high erucic triacylglycerol accumulation in Pennycress.

Algae to HEFA: Economics and potential deployment in the United States

AbstractTo reach the goals set by the US Department of Energy's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, currently available feedstocks may be insufficient. Giving priority to developing, prototyping and reducing the cost of algal feedstock before investing and lining up locations is important. As the production of algal feedstocks advances, a simplified conversion approach using more mature technologies can help reduce the investment risk for algae‐based fuels. Reducing process complexity to the steps described here [namely, conversion of lipids to HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids) fuels and relegating the remainder of the biomass to anaerobic digestion or food/feed production] enables the near‐term production of algal SAF but presents challenging economics depending on achievable cultivation costs and compositional quality. However, these economics can be improved by present‐day policy incentives. With these incentives, the modeled algae‐to‐HEFA pathway could reach a minimum fuel selling price as low as $4.7 per gasoline gallon equivalent depending on the carbon intensity reduction that can be achieved compared with petroleum. Uncertainty about algal feedstock production maturity in the current state of technology and the future will play a large role in determining the economic feasibility of building algae‐to‐HEFA facilities. For example, if immaturity increases the feedstock price by even 10%, SAF production in 2050 is about 58% of the production which could have been achieved with mature feedstock. Additionally, growth in this conversion pathway can be notably boosted through the inclusion of subsidies, and also through higher‐value coproducts or higher lipid yields beyond the scope of the process considered here.

Demonstrating photocatalytic esterification as a potential strategy to improve the properties of feedstock oil derived from dairy waste scum for biodiesel production

The availability of quality feedstock for biodiesel production is challenging; and therefore, techniques to improve the quality of feedstock are highly desired, as they could be utilized to modify any feedstock and enhance the biodiesel production. Dairy waste scum oil (DWSO) is recently known to be a valuable feedstock for producing biodiesel. However, DWSO needs to go through an esterification process to reduce its high free fatty acid (FFA) content. To do this, herein, we have treated the DWSO using photocatalytic tin oxide (SnO2) particles under UV light irradiation and reduced the FFA content significantly compared to the conventional cumbersome acid-mediated esterification process. The synthesized catalyst is characterized for its structural, morphological, optical and surface properties using various characterization techniques. Parameters such as catalysts dosage, methanol to oil ratio, reaction time, and temperature involved in the photo-assisted esterification processes are optimized, and a mechanism for the photocatalytic esterification reaction is also proposed. Importantly, SnO2 particles also showed excellent reusability in the photo-assisted esterification process. Overall, the physiochemical and fuel properties of the photo-esterified DWSO-derived biodiesel are found to be improved compared to the biodiesel synthesized via conventional acid-esterified oil.

Assessing the decarbonisation potential of waste-to-hydrogen routes in the energy transition phase: An environmental analytical model

Hydrogen (H2) plays a crucial role in current climate change and energy crisis challenges due to its versatility and low environmental impact, leading to a projected growth in its demand. However, meeting this demand while reducing environmental impact requires innovative solutions, which can support the current energy transition phase and the subsequent large-scale implementation of the electrolysis (El) process. Waste-to-H2 (WtH2) routes, which use waste as a feedstock for H2 production, seem to be valuable for this purpose. To this concern, an environmental analytical model was developed in this work to evaluate the decarbonisation potential offered by three WtH2 routes in the context of the European energy transition. The environmental performance of a Waste-to-Energy plant coupled with an electrolyser, an MSW gasification plant with a syngas treatment unit (Gas-H2) and a Steam Biogas Reforming (SBR) process were therefore compared to that of the most widespread fossil-based H2 production route and the most environmentally promising one, i.e., Steam Methane Reforming and El, respectively. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess their environmental performance depending on the state of progress of the energy transition, and the results obtained were then applied in two scenarios, corresponding to the early (i.e., 2020 scenario) and advanced (i.e., 2030 scenario) stages of the European energy transition. The obtained results showed that the SBR offers negative total emissions in many contexts, that the Gas-H2 route is a valuable alternative to fossil-based H2 production, and that the El route is very favourable in contexts where energy is mainly produced from renewable sources. Moreover, it was observed that, especially at an early stage of the energy transition (i.e., 2020 scenario), the use of WtH2 routes could have significantly supported the production of low-carbon H2 and savings in terms of carbon emissions right acquisition. Although, as expected, H2 production from El will become the better alternative from an environmental perspective at an advanced stage of the energy transition process (i.e., 2030 scenario), WtH2 technologies will continue to be able to support the decarbonisation of H2 production.

Assessing the Potential of Teff Husk for Biochar Production through Slow Pyrolysis: Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on Biochar Yield

Environmental restoration and sustainable energy solutions require effective management and utilization of agricultural crop residues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Biowastes are a valuable resource that can be converted into biofuels and their byproducts, solving the energy crisis and reducing environmental impact. In this study, teff husk, primarily generated in Ethiopia during the production of teff within the agro-industrial sector, is used as a feedstock for slow pyrolysis. Ethiopia generates an estimated annual production of over 1.75 million tons of teff husk, a significant portion of which is incinerated, resulting in significant pollution of the environment. This study focuses on assessing teff husk as a potential material for slow pyrolysis, a crucial stage in biochar production, to tap into its biochar-producing potential. To identify the composition of biomass, the teff husk underwent an initial analysis using thermogravimetry. The significant presence of fixed carbon indicates that teff husk is a viable candidate for pyrolytic conversion into biochar particles. The process of slow pyrolysis took place at three temperatures—specifically, 400, 450, and 500 °C. The maximum biochar yield was achieved by optimizing slow pyrolysis parameters including reaction time, temperature, and heating rate. The optimized reaction time, temperature, and heating rate of 120 min, 400 °C, and 4.2 °C/min, respectively, resulted in the highest biochar yield of 43.4 wt.%. Furthermore, biochar’s physicochemical, SEM-EDX, FTIR, and TGA characterization were performed. As the temperature of biochar increases, its carbon content and thermal stability increases as well. Unlike fuel recovery, the results suggest that teff-husk can be used as a feedstock for biochar production.

Exploitation of Annona reticulata leaf extract for the synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticles as catalyst for the production of biodiesel using seed oil thereof

Annona reticulata plant components such as leaves and seeds are successfully employed as low-cost and environmentally-safe sustainable materials for the synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles and biodiesel production. The synthesized CeO2 NPs worked well as a catalyst to convert A. reticulata oil into biodiesel. At a methanol to oil molar ratio of 8.97:1, a catalyst (CeO2 NPs) loading of 2.97 wt %, and reaction time of 56.4 min, the maximum 96.8 % biodiesel yield was attained. A pseudo-first-order reaction with activation energy (Ea) of 49.77 kJ/mol and a frequency factor (A) of 1.8 x 105 min−1 is consistent with the Annona reticulata methyl ester (ARME) production. The performance and emission characteristics of diesel engines were found to be significantly impacted by the use of CeO2 NPs. While the BSFC of ARME20CeO250 and ARME20CeO2100 decreased by 2.04 % and 5.10 %, respectively, the BTE of ARME20CeO250 and ARME20CeO2100 increased by 1.8 % and 2.41 %, in contrast to ARME20 at maximum load. When CeO2 nano-additive (100 ppm) is added to the ARME20 blend, the CO, HC, and NOx are reduced by 42 %, 35.59 %, and 5.94 %, respectively, in comparison to the ARME20 fuel. Thus, the A. reticulata plant may be seen as an eco-friendly source from its leaves extract, and the oil extracted from its seeds may be used as a feedstock for the effective production of biodiesel.

Production of Permanent Magnets from Recycled NdFeB Powder with Powder Extrusion Moulding

In the last fifteen years, several groups have investigated metal injection moulding (MIM) of NdFeB powder to produce isotropic or anisotropic rare earth magnets of greater geometric complexity than that achieved by the conventional pressing and sintering approach. However, due to the powder’s high affinity for oxygen and carbon uptake, sufficient remanence and coercivity remains difficult. This article presents a novel approach to producing NdFeB magnets from recycled material using Powder Extrusion Moulding (PEM) in a continuous process. The process route uses powder obtained from recycling rare earth magnets through Hydrogen Processing of Magnetic Scrap (HPMS). This article presents the results of tailored powder processing, the production of mouldable feedstock based on a special binder system, and moulding with PEM to produce green and sintered parts. The magnetic properties and microstructures of debinded and sintered samples are presented and discussed, focusing on the influence of filling ratio and challenging processing conditions on interstitial content as well as density and magnetic properties.

Harnessing artificial intelligence-driven approach for enhanced indole-3-acetic acid from the newly isolated Streptomyces rutgersensis AW08

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) derived from Actinobacteria fermentations on agro-wastes constitutes a safer and low-cost alternative to synthetic IAA. This study aims to select a high IAA-producing Streptomyces-like strain isolated from Lake Oubeira sediments (El Kala, Algeria) for further investigations (i.e., 16S rRNA gene barcoding and process optimization). Subsequently, artificial intelligence-based approaches were employed to maximize IAA bioproduction on spent coffee grounds as high-value-added feedstock. The specificity was the novel application of the Limited-Memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno Box (L-BFGS-B) optimization algorithm. The new strain AW08 was a significant producer of IAA (26.116 ± 0.61 μg/mL) and was identified as Streptomyces rutgersensis by 16S rRNA gene barcoding and phylogenetic inquiry. The empirical data involved the inoculation of AW08 in various cultural conditions according to a four-factor Box Behnken Design matrix (BBD) of Response surface methodology (RSM). The input parameters and regression equation extracted from the RSM-BBD were the basis for implementing and training the L-BFGS-B algorithm. Upon training the model, the optimal conditions suggested by the BBD and L-BFGS-B algorithm were, respectively, L-Trp (X1) = 0.58 %; 0.57 %; T° (X2) = 26.37 °C; 28.19 °C; pH (X3) = 7.75; 8.59; and carbon source (X4) = 30 %; 33.29 %, with the predicted response IAA (Y) = 152.8; 169.18 μg/mL). Our findings emphasize the potential of the multifunctional S. rutgersensis AW08, isolated and reported for the first time in Algeria, as a robust producer of IAA. Validation investigations using the bioprocess parameters provided by the L-BFGS-B and the BBD-RSM models demonstrate the effectiveness of AI-driven optimization in maximizing IAA output by 5.43-fold and 4.2-fold, respectively. This study constitutes the first paper reporting a novel interdisciplinary approach and providing insights into biotechnological advancements. These results support for the first time a reasonable approach for valorizing spent coffee grounds as feedstock for sustainable and economic IAA production from S. rutgersensis AW08.

Development and utilization of genome-wide InDel markers in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has become an increasingly valuable crop for food, feed, and especially bioenergy feedstock production, which makes the crop extremely attractive for studying genomics and genetic diversity. Molecular markers and genomics play essential roles in sorghum breeding. The rapid development of next-generation sequencing technology has facilitated the identification of genome-wide insertion-deletion (InDel) polymorphisms, enabling the efficient construction of InDel markers that are suitable for user-friendly PCR. This study was conducted with the objective of discovering and developing InDel markers using double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-Seq) data. A total of 19,226 InDels distributed across 10 chromosomes in the sorghum genome was identified. Of those, deletions constituted 65.7% while the remain was insertions. A comprehensive analysis of all the chromosomes revealed a total of 80 InDel sites with a minimum length of 10 bp. For a good conversion of the InDel regions to beneficial molecular markers, specific primers were designed for the amplification of 47 InDel regions that were selected for further investigation. A diverse panel of sorghum consisting of 16 accessions served a source for the developed InDel markers validation. Of the 47 InDel markers, 14 were tested across 16 sorghum accessions and were demonstrated their helpfulness for marker-assisted selection in sorghum. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values of the 16 markers varied between 0.11 and 0.38, with an average of 0.28. The findings of this study indicated that the identification of InDels and the development of molecular markers for sorghum were accomplished using the ddRAD-Seq data.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production from Eucalyptus Bark's Enzymatic Hydrolysate.

In recent years, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have gained notoriety because of their desirable properties that include proven biodegradability, biocompatibility, and thermal stability, which make them suitable alternatives to fossil-based polymers. However, the widespread use of PHAs is still challenging because of their production costs, which are greatly associated with the cultivation medium used for bacterial cultivation. In Portugal, one-quarter of the forest area is covered by Eucalyptus globulus wood, making its residues a cheap, abundant, and sustainable potential carbon source for biotechnological uses. In this work, eucalyptus bark was used as the sole feedstock for PHA production in a circular bioeconomic approach. Eucalyptus bark hydrolysate was obtained after enzymatic saccharification using Cellic® CTec3, resulting in a sugar-rich solution containing glucose and xylose. Although with differing performances, several bacteria were able to grow and produce PHA with distinct compositions, using the enzymatic hydrolysate as the sole carbon source. Pseudomonas citronellolis NRRL B-2504 achieved a high cellular growth rate in bioreactor assays (24.4 ± 0.15 g/L) but presented a low accumulation of a medium-chain-length PHA (mcl-PHA) comprising the monomers hydroxydecanoate (HD, 65%), hydroxydodecanoate (HDd, 25%), and hydroxytetradecanoate (HTd, 14%). Burkholderia thailandensis E264, on the other hand, reached a lower cellular growth rate (8.87 ± 0.34 g/L) but showed a higher biopolymer accumulation, with a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) content in the cells of 12.3 wt.%. The new isolate, Pseudomonas sp., revealed that under nitrogen availability, it was able to reach a higher accumulation of the homopolymer PHB (31 wt.%). These results, although preliminary, demonstrate the suitability of eucalyptus bark's enzymatic hydrolysate as a feedstock for PHA production, thus offering an exciting avenue for achieving sustainable and environmentally responsible plastic products from an undervalued forestry waste.

Anaerobic co-digestion of microalgal biomass, sugarcane vinasse, and residual glycerol from biodiesel using simplex-centroid mixture design: methane potential, synergic effect, and microbial diversity.

Microalgal biomass (MB) is a promising feedstock for bioenergy production. Nonetheless, the cell recalcitrance and the low C/N ratio limit the methane yield during anaerobic digestion. As an alternative to overcome these challenges, MB co-digestion with different feedstocks has been proposed. Thus, this study evaluated the anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of MB cultivated in wastewater with sugarcane vinasse (VIN) and residual glycerol from biodiesel production (GLY). Batch tests were conducted using augmented simplex-centroid mixture design to investigate the impact of AcoD on methane production (SMP), synergistic effects, and the influence on microbial community. When compared to MB digestion, 150 NmL CH4.g-1VS, binary and ternary AcoD achieved SMP increases from 120 to 337%. The combination of 16.7:16.7:66.7 (MB:VIN:GLY) showed the highest SMP for a ternary mixture (631 NmL CH4.g-1VS). Optimal synergies ranged from 1.3 to 1.4 and were primarily found for the MB:GLY AcoD. Acetoclastic Methanosaeta genus was predominant, regardless the combination between substrates. Despite the largest SMP obtained from the MB:GLY AcoD, other ternary mixtures were also highly synergetic and therefore had strong potential as a strategic renewable energy source.

Scenarios for deep decarbonisation of industry in Lithuania

Achieving an ambitious EU long-term vision of climate neutrality requires efforts across all Member States and economic sectors. Lithuania's industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to maintain current trends under a business-as-usual case. We applied a bottom-up modelling approach to analyse deep decarbonisation scenarios for the Lithuanian industry up to 2050 to advance the wider debate and provide insights into the measures needed to make a difference. The results show that the deep decarbonisation of the Lithuanian industry by 2050 is feasible. However, to avoid large-scale emissions from industrial processes, it is requisite to utilise green hydrogen (H2) as a feedstock for ammonia production and carbon capture and storage (CCS) for clinker production. It requires significant investments and increases operating costs. Without CCS and H2, only up to 17 % of industrial emissions could be avoided by 2050.