• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.487-496
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• 2021

Microalgae is one of the promising biodiesel feedstock with high growth rates compared to those of terrestrial oil crops. Despite its numerous advantages, biodiesel production from microalgae needs to reduce energy demand and material costs further to go to commercialization. During solvent extraction of microalgal lipids, lipid-extracted algae (LEA) cell residue is generated as an organic solid waste, about 80-85% of original algal biomass, and requires an appropriate recycling or economic disposal. The resulting LEA still contains significant amount of carbohydrates, proteins, N, P, and other micronutrients. This review will focus on recent advancement in the utilization of LEA as: (i) utilization as nutrients or carbon sources for microalgae and other organisms, (ii) anaerobic digestion to produce biogas or co-fermentation to produce CH₄ and H₂, and (iii) conversion to other forms of biofuel through thermochemical degradation processes. Possible mutual benefits in the integration of microalgae cultivation-biodiesel production-resulting LEA with anaerobic digestion and thermochemical conversion are also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2024

Microalgae are aquatic microorganisms capable of photosynthetic growth using water, carbon dioxide and sunlight, and can replace petroleum for transportation. It is receiving great attention as a potential next-generation biological resource. The microalgae biodiesel production process is largely based on the development of highly efficient strains and mass production. It consists of cultivation, harvesting, oil extraction, fuel conversion and by-product utilization. Currently, microalgae diesel is 3-5 times more expensive than petroleum diesel. However, with the optimization of each element technology and the development of integrated systems, not only biofuels, but also industrial materials, wastewater treatment, and greenhouse gases As application expands to various fields such as abatement, the timing of commercialization may be brought forward. Oil prices have recently fallen due to the influence of sail gas. Although there has been a significant drop, global warming is an urgent challenge for current and future generations. In particular, Korea, which does not have oil resources, We must always prepare for political environmental changes, high oil prices, and energy crises. In this paper, the need for eco-friendly biofuel for carbon dioxide conversion. In addition to research trends, domestic and international research trends, and economic prospects, the concept of microalgae and the element technologies of the biodiesel production process are briefly discussed introduced.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.366-374
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• 2015

Herein, we established a repeated-batch process for ethanol production from glycerol by immobilized Pachysolen tannophilus. The aim of this study was to develop a more practical and applicable ethanol production process for biofuel. In particular, using industrial-grade medium ingredients, the microaeration rate was optimized for maximization of the ethanol production, and the relevant metabolic parameters were then analyzed. The microaeration rate of 0.11 vvm, which is far lower than those occurring in a shaking flask culture, was found to be the optimal value for ethanol production from glycerol. In addition, it was found that, among those tested, Celite was a more appropriate carrier for the immobilization of P. tannophilus to induce production of ethanol from glycerol. Finally, through a repeated-batch culture, the ethanol yield (Y_e/g) of 0.126 ± 0.017 g-ethanol/g-glycerol (n = 4) was obtained, and this value was remarkably comparable with a previous report. In the future, it is expected that the results of this study will be applied for the development of a more practical and profitable long-term ethanol production process, thanks to the industrial-grade medium preparation, simple immobilization method, and easy repeated-batch operation.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.688-700
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• 2013

The potential of biodiesel production technology using lipids extracted from sewage sludge was investigated. Despite the bright prospect of biodiesel production, efforts to commercialize it have been very limited. One of the major obstacles has been the high price associated with refined oil feedstock, which makes up nearly 70-75% of the total production costs. Hence, in order to reduce the cost of biodiesel production, using cheaper feedstock such as waste oil or low-quality oil has been proposed. Especially, sewage sludge, a relatively inexpensive feedstock, is a promising raw material for such a purpose. In this study, it is aimed to review biodiesel production technology from sewage sludge as a lipid feedstock. It is process modifications to combine the oil extraction steps, fuel conversion steps (i.e. in situ transesterification, thermo-chemical process with non-catalytic heterogeneous biodiesel production) and fuel quality from sewage sludge.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2010

Biodiesel is a type of biofuel obtained from bioresources and able to use in diesel vehicles as an alternative/additive to petro diesel. In recent biodiesel research, there are three main issues which include high quality biodiesel, low cost feed stock and a highly efficient biodiesel production process. The sustainable production and use of biodiesel are attracting much attention in the renewable energy field. In this paper, we review some of the literatures related to environmental and economic evaluation for biodiesel production and analysis the issues including life cycle assessment (LCA), global warming potential (GWP), energy consumption, biodiesel production cost, production technologies and feedstock.

• Carbon letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2016

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biofuels such as ethanol and other value-added bio-products including activated carbons has attracted much attention. The development of an efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly pretreatment process is a major challenge in lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel conversion. Although several modern pretreatment technologies have been introduced, few promising technologies have been reported. Microwave irradiation or microwave-assisted methods (physical and chemical) for pretreatment (disintegration) of biomass have been gaining popularity over the last few years owing to their high heating efficiency, lower energy requirements, and easy operation. Acid and alkali pretreatments assisted by microwave heating meanwhile have been widely used for different types of lignocellulosic biomass conversion. Additional advantages of microwave-based pretreatments include faster treatment time, selective processing, instantaneous control, and acceleration of the reaction rate. The present review provides insights into the current research and advantages of using microwave-assisted pretreatment technologies for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars in the process of cellulosic ethanol production.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.7
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• pp.23.1-23.6
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• 2015

Cellulose degrading bacteria from koala faeces were isolated using caboxymethylcellulose-Congo red agar, screened in vitro for different hydrolytic enzyme activities and phylogenetically characterized using molecular tools. Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were the most prominent bacteria from koala faeces. The isolates demonstrated good xylanase, amylase, lipase, protease, tannase and lignin peroxidase activities apart from endoglucanase activity. Furthermore many isolates grew in the presence of phenanthrene, indicating their probable application for bioremediation. Potential isolates can be exploited further for industrial enzyme production or in bioremediation of contaminated sites.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2015

The growth of the algae strains Neochloris oleabundans, Botryococcus Braunii and Dunaliella sp. under mixotrophic conditions in the presence of different concentrations of crude glycerol was evaluated with the objective of increasing the biomass growth and algal oil content. A high biomass concentration was characteristic of these strains when grown on crude glycerol compared to autotrophic growth, and 5 g/L glycerol yielded the highest biomass concentration for these strains. Mixotrophic conditions improved both the growth of the microalgae and the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs). The maximum amount of TAGs in the algal strains was obtained in the 5 g/L glycerol growth medium. The fatty acid profiles of the oil for the cultures met the necessary requirements and are promising resources for biofuel production.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.10-27
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• 2020

Endophytes are defined as microorganisms that spend part of lifetime interior of plant tissues without causing negative effects. They have been used for agricultural purpose, biofuel production, bioremediation, medication, etc. In particular, endophytes have been emerged as a good source for bioactive secondary metabolites. A large number of secondary metabolites are currently being reported. In this report, we focus on the secondary metabolites that were originated from endophytic fungi inhabiting medicinal plants. They were classified into several groups such as nitrogenous compounds, steroids, sulfide-containing metabolites, terpenoids, polyketides, and miscellaneous for discussion of chemical structures and biological activities.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.618-635
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• 2021

Environmental issues caused by our dependence on fossil fuels have caused our society to move toward new renewable sources of energy and chemicals. In this study, we develop an integrated process that co-produces butene oligomer (i.e., biofuels) and 1,3-butadiene (i.e., monomer for the production of synthetic rubber). To minimize utility consumption, we conduct heat integration. Then, we conduct a range of techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment to investigate economic and environmental feasibility of the proposed process.