• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.365-384
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• 2012

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that are highly productive in the presence of basic renewable natural sources (light, $CO_2$, water and nutrients). They can synthesize lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in a small number of days. Subsequently, these carbon-captured products can be processed into both biofuels and valuable co-products. Additionally, microalgae would be an ideal feedstock for replacing land-based food crops with cellular products as high energy density transportation fuels. These microscopic organisms could contribute a significant amount of renewable energy on a global scale. In Korea, microalgae biofuel research was common in the early 1990s. The research activities were unfortunately stopped due to limited governmental funds and low petroleum prices. Interest in algal biofuels in Korea has been growing recently due to an increased concern over oil prices, energy security, greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for other biofuel feedstock to compete for limited agricultural resources. The high productivity of microalgae suggests that much of the Korean transportation fuel requirements can be met by biofuels at a production cost competitive with the increasing cost of petroleum seen in early 2008. At this time, the development of microlalgal biomass production technology remains in its infancy. This study reviewed microalgae culture systems and biomass production, harvesting, oil extraction, conversion, and technoeconomical bottlenecks. Many technical and economic barriers to using microalgal biofuels need to be overcome before mass production of microalgal-derived fuel substitutes is possible. However, serious efforts to overcome these barriers could become a large-scale commercial reality. Overall, this study provides a brief overview of the past few decades of global microalgal research.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2016

In this new energy economy era, the importance of renewable energy resource needs to be highly addressed, as the demand of energy dramatically increases and fossil fuel is being exhausted. Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as the sustainable and renewable feedstock to produce biochemicals and biofuels that are the alternative for petroleum derived products. Furfural is a natural precursor for the range of furan based chemicals and solvents such as methylfuran, tetrahydrofuran, methyltetrahydrofuran, ethyltetrahydrofuryl ether, ethyl levulinate, levulinic acid, and alkanes. Thus, furfural should be a renewable platform chemical for biochemicals and renewable biofuels. In this paper, the concept of biorefinery, furfural production and its applications are briefly reviewed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1235-1243
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• 2020

The use of microalgal biomass as feedstock for biofuels has been discussed for decades as it provides a sustainable approach to producing fuels for the future. Nonetheless, its feasibility has not been established yet and various aspects of biomass applications such as CO₂ biofixation should also be explored. Therefore, in this study, the CO₂ biofixation and lipid/carbohydrate production potential of Chlorella sp. ABC-001 were examined under various nitrogen concentrations. The highest biomass productivity and CO₂ biofixation rate of 0.422 g/l/d and 0.683 g/l/d, respectively, were achieved under a nitrogen-rich condition (15 mM nitrate). Carbohydrate content was generally proportional to initial nitrate concentration and showed the highest value of 41.5% with 15 mM. However, lipid content showed an inverse relationship with nitrogen supplementation and showed the highest value of 47.4% with 2.5 mM. In consideration as feedstock for biofuels (bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas), the sum of carbohydrate and lipid contents were examined and the highest value of 79.6% was achieved under low nitrogen condition (2.5 mM). For lipid-based biofuel production, low nitrogen supplementation should be pursued. However, considering the lower feasibility of biodiesel, pursuing CO₂ biofixation and the production of carbohydrate-based fuels under nitrogen-rich condition might be more rational. Thus, nitrogen status as a cultivation strategy must be optimized according to the objective, and this was confirmed with the promising alga Chlorella sp. ABC-001.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1597-1606
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• 2020

Transcription factor engineering to regulate multiple genes has shown promise in the field of microalgae genetic engineering. Here, we report the first use of transcription factor engineering in Chlorella sp. HS2, thought to have potential for producing biofuels and bioproducts. We identified seven endogenous bZIP transcription factors in Chlorella sp. HS2 and named them HSbZIP1 through HSbZIP7. We overexpressed HSbZIP1, a C-type bZIP transcription factor, in Chlorella sp. HS2 with the goal of enhancing lipid production. Phenotype screening under heterotrophic conditions showed that all transformants exhibited increased fatty acid production. In particular, HSbZIP1 37 and 58 showed fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields of 859 and 1,052 mg/l, respectively, at day 10 of growth under heterotrophic conditions, and these yields were 74% and 113% higher, respectively, than that of WT. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the improved phenotypes, we identified candidate HSbZIP1-regulated genes via transcription factor binding site analysis. We then selected three genes involved in fatty acid synthesis and investigated mRNA expression levels of the genes by qRT-PCR. The result revealed that the possible HSbZIP1-regulated genes involved in fatty acid synthesis were upregulated in the HSbZIP1 transformants. Taken together, our results demonstrate that HSbZIP1 can be utilized to improve lipid production in Chlorella sp. HS2 under heterotrophic conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 2016

Recently, technologies that produce biofuels from microalgae are being studied worldwide. It is necessary to significantly reduce the production costs of biofuels from microalgae for economic reasons. In this study, the growth curve of the microalgae was obtained using the batch-culture method, and the specific growth rate was predicted using the regression method. Based on the culture conditions of the estimated specific growth rate, the turbidity of the microalgae in the flat panel photobioreactor (PBR) was measured. Furthermore, an on-off control scheme was applied to the flat panel PBR in order to culture the microalgae continuously on the basis of turbidity. The parameters of the on-off control system were displayed by LabView. The on-off scheme of peristaltic pump was controlled based on the turbidity in the PBR. In addition, the turbidity values of growth curves were compared and analyzed in the continuous culture process using the on-off controller.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2010

Output traits centered on improved plant-based products will find their way to consumers in such ways as nutritionally enhanced foods, therapeutic proteins for disease treatment and vaccines, bio-industrial products, modified oil quality and biofuels. Significant progress in biotechnology has occurred over the last several decades. The importance of output traits development and production using biotechnology will impact not only agribusiness, but also pharmaceutical and food industries. The objective of this paper is to review briefly the current status of output traits development in crop plants using nutrients and pharmaceuticals as examples.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 2014

Macroalgae has been strongly touted as an alternative biomass for biofuel production due to its higher photosynthetic efficiency, carbon fixation rate, and growth rate compared to conventional cellulosic plants. However, its unique carbohydrate composition and structure limits the utilization efficiency by conventional microorganisms, resulting in reduced growth rates and lower productivity. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that it is possible to enable microorganisms to utilize various sugars from seaweeds and to produce some energy chemicals such as methane, ethanol, etc. This paper introduces the basic information on macroalgae and the overall conversion process from harvest to production of biofuels. Especially, we will review the successful efforts on microbial engineering through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to utilize carbon sources from red and brown seaweed.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.565-573
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• 2019

Production of biofuels and value-added materials from cellulosic biomass requires the development of a microbial strain capable of efficiently fermenting mixed sugars. In this study, the natural xylose fermenting yeast, Pichia stipitis, was evolved to simultaneously ferment cellobiose and xylose. Serial subcultures of wild-type P. stipitis in 20 g/l cellobiose were performed to increase the rate of cellobiose consumption. A total of ten rounds of the serial subculture led to the isolation of an evolved strain fermenting cellobiose significantly faster than the parental strain. The evolved strain displayed enhanced ethanol yield from 0 to 0.4 g ethanol/g cellobiose. The evolved P. stipitis simultaneously fermented cellobiose and xylose in batch fermentation. The genetic information of our evolved P. stipitis would be valuable in the development of a microbial host for the production of biofuels and biomaterials from cellulosic biomass.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.540-559
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• 2018

The utilization of sewage sludge for liquid biofuel production is considered as a approach for achieving better energy security, sustainable productivity and economical raw material. Thermochemical technologies of sewage sludge into energy and fuel has been considered as one of the most effective process. Generally, sewage sludge contains more than 80% of moisture, has high metal contents and 14 ~ 20 MJ/kg of calorific value. This paper reviews the technologies of converting sewage sludge to liquid biofuel via three main thermochemical conversion processes namely pyrolysis, transesterification and supercritical. The fuel properties of liquid fuels produced by different technologies from sewage sludge and definition in relevant laws for liquid biofuels in Korea are also discussed.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.125-131
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• 2015

Kluyveromyces marxianus is a well-known thermotolerant yeast. Although Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most commonly used yeast species for ethanol production, the thermotolerant K. marxianus is more suitable for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes. This is because enzymatic saccharification usually requires a higher temperature than that needed for the optimum growth of S. cerevisiae. In this study, we compared the fermentation patterns of S. cerevisiae and K. marxianus under various temperatures of fermentation. The results show that at a fermentation temperature of $45^{\circ}C$, K. marxianus exhibited more than two fold higher growth rate and ethanol production rate in comparison to S. cerevisiae. For SSF using starch or corn stover as the sole carbon source by K. marxianus, the high temperature ($45^{\circ}C$) fermentations showed higher enzymatic activities and ethanol production compared to SSF at $30^{\circ}C$. These results demonstrate the potential of the thermotolerant yeast K. marxianus for SSF in the industrial production of biofuels.