• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.723-731
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• 2015

Microalgae hold promise as producers of sustainable biomass for the production of biofuels and other biomaterials. However, the selection of strains with efficient and robust production of desirable resources remains challenging. In this study, we isolated a green microalga from Korea and analyzed its morphological, molecular, and biochemical characteristics. Microscopic and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the isolate could be classified into the genus Chlamydomonas, and we designated the isolate Chlamydomonas sp. KIOST -1. Compositions of protein, lipid, and carbohydrate in the microalgal cells were estimated to be 58.8 ± 0.2%, 22.7 ± 1.2%, and 18.5 ± 1.0%, respectively. Similar to other microalgae belonging to Chlorophyceae, the dominant amino acid and monosaccharide in Chlamydomonas sp. KIOST-1 were glutamic acid and glucose. On the other hand, the proportions of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids clearly differed from other species in the genus Chlamydomonas, and monounsaturated fatty acids accounted for a large portion (41.3%) of the total fatty acids in the isolate. Based on these results, Chlamydomonas sp. KIOST-1 has advantageous characteristics for biomass production.

• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.267-276
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• 2016

Microalgae are currently a very promising source of biomass and triacylglycerol (TAG) for biofuels. In a previous study, we identified Chlorella saccharophila as a suitable source of oil for biodiesel production because it showed high biomass and lipid content with an appropriate fatty acid methyl esters profile. To improve the TAG accumulation in C. saccharophila, in this study we evaluated the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) addition on cell concentration, lipid content and TAG production in this microalga. First, we evaluated the effects of four ABA concentrations (1, 4, 10, and 20 μM) added at the beginning of a single-stage cultivation strategy, and found that all concentrations tested significantly increased cell concentration and TAG content in C. saccharophila. We then evaluated the addition of 1 μM ABA during the second stage of a two-stage cultivation strategy and compared it with a nitrogen deficiency treatment (ND) and a combination of ND and ABA (ND + ABA). Although ABA alone significantly increased lipid and TAG contents compared with the control, ND showed significantly higher TAG content, and ND + ABA showed the highest TAG content. When comparing the results of both strategies, we found a superior response in terms of TAG accumulation with the addition of 1 μM ABA at the beginning of a single-stage cultivation system. This strategy is a simple and effective way to improve the TAG content in C. saccharophila and probably other microalgae as a feedstock for biodiesel production.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2016

Due to the high price volatility and environmental concern of petroleum, biofuels such as bioethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass have attracted much attention. It is also expected that the amount of lignin residue generated from pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass will increase as the volume of cellulosic bioethanol increases. Lignin is a natural aromatic polymer and has very complex chemical structures with chemical functional groups. Chemical modification of lignin such as oxypropylation and epoxidation has also been applied to the production of value-added bioplastics such as polyurethane and polyester with enhanced thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, lignin can be used for carbon fiber production in automobile industries. This review highlights recent progresses in utilizations and chemical modifications of lignin for the production of bioplastics, resins, and carbon fiber.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.378-386
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• 2022

Scenedesmus obliquus ABC-009 is a microalgal strain that accumulates large amounts of lutein, particularly when subjected to growth-limiting conditions. Here, the performance of this strain was evaluated for the simultaneous production of lutein and biofuels under three different modes of cultivation - photoautotrophic mode using BG-11 medium with air or 2% CO₂ and heterotrophic mode using YM medium. While it was found that the highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) level and lutein content per biomass (%) were achieved in BG-11 medium with CO₂ and air, respectively, heterotrophic cultivation resulted in much higher biomass productivity. While the cell concentrations of the cultures grown under BG-11 and CO₂ were largely similar to those grown in YM medium, the disparity in the biomass yield was largely attributed to the larger cell volume in heterotrophically cultivated cells. Post-cultivation light treatment was found to further enhance the biomass productivity in all three cases and lutein content in heterotrophic conditions. Consequently, the maximum biomass (757.14 ± 20.20 mg/l/d), FAME (92.78 ± 0.08 mg/l/d), and lutein (1.006 ± 0.23 mg/l/d) productivities were obtained under heterotrophic cultivation. Next, large-scale lutein production using microalgae was demonstrated using a 1-ton open raceway pond cultivation system and a low-cost fertilizer (Eco-Sol). The overall biomass yields were similar in both media, while slightly higher lutein content was obtained using the fertilizer owing to the higher nitrogen content.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.347-351
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• 2011

In this study, we investigated the effect of reaction factors on enzymatic hydrolysis of Hizikia fusiforme, which is brown algae in marine biomass resource, using commercial enzymes. The composition of H. fusiforme is 38.9% of reducing sugar, 4.8% of moisture, 17.8% of ash, and 38.5% of others. In the condition of 1-5% substrate, the increase of substrate concentration enhanced the increase of reducing sugar formation; however, the hydrolysis yield did not increase after 24 h. After reaction of 75 h, conversion yield of reducing sugar were obtained to 16.45%, 17.99%, and 14.55% at 1, 2.5, and 5% substrate, respectively. As a result of effect of enzyme amount, the formation of reducing sugar did not show considerable change at 1% substrate. However, in the condition of 2.5% substrate, the great change of reducing sugar formation was observed by the increase of enzyme amount. The conversion yields of reducing sugar were obtained to 18.77% and 22.83% at 1% and 2.5% substrate with 30% enzyme, respectively. As a result of heat treatment of biomass, the high yield was obtained in 2.5% substrate and the yields were increased to 0.06-7.2% by the heat treatment. This result will provide the basic information for production process of biofuels and chemicals from marine biomass H. fusiforme.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.239-243
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• 2014

Recently, there is a growing interest in efficient biomass pretreatment and saccharification processes to produce biofuels and biochemicals from renewable non-food biomass resources. In this study, glucose was produced from cellulose by immobilizing cellulase enzyme on chitosan beads which was reported to have high pH and temperature stability. The immobilized amounts of cellulase on chitosan beads linearly increased with increasing the concentrations of cellulase solution. The glucose production increased to 7.2 g/L from 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) substrate when immobilized at 20% cellulase solution. The maximum specific activity was 0.37 unit/mg protein when immobilized at 8% cellulase solution. At pH 7 and $37^{\circ}C$, the optimum reaction composition was 0.5 g beads/L from 1% CMC substrate. At this condition, the conversion to glucose completed at ca. 20 min.

• Clean Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.280-282
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• 2011

Capture and conversion of abundant solar energy using biotechnology will be essential for the development of sustainable and future energy. Photosynthesis is used for the production of biofuels such as biohydrogen. In this study, lightharvesting xanthorhodopsin consisting of retinal and salinixanthin was isolated from a photosynthetic microorganism Salinibacter ruber by aqueous two phase extraction. To stabilize the light-harvesting machine, artificial xanthorhodopsin-liposome system was reconstructed to have photoelectron absorption activity.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.588-598
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• 2017

Currently, bioethanol, a fuel additive for transportation, is produced mainly by using biomass (first generation) such as corn and sugar canes. First generation biomass can cause various problems in terms of increase in agricultural prices and ethical reasons. To address these problems, a nonedible lignocellulosic biomass can be utilized. Agricultural byproducts such as straw, bagasse, and forest byproducts from the wood processing industry. Therefore, production of wood based bioethanol can be an effective utilization route of second generation biomass, and its raw materials are more abundant than first generation resources. Furthermore, it is possible to secure cheap raw materials. One of the biggest advantages of using biofuels is that it contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases by minimizing the environmental impact, unlike fossil fuels. In this study, we investigated the greenhouse gas reduction effects that can be achieved through the use of Lignocellulosic bioethanol and government policies on renewable energy currently being implemented in ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines). In these four countries, policies and incentives related to biofuels have been developed. It is expected that the reduction ratio of carbon dioxide emission and the mixed biofuel will be gradually increased in the future.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.609-628
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• 2015

Thie study presents the biomass-derived jet (bio-jet) fuel production technologies for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction in aviation sector. The aviation sector is responsible for the 2% of the world anthropogenic $CO_2$ emissions and the 10% of the fuel consumption: airlines' costs for fuel reach 30% of operating costs. In addition, the aviation traffic is expected to double within 15 years from 2012, while fuel consumption and $CO_2$ emissions should double in 25 years. Biojet fuels have been claimed to be one of the most promising and strategic solutions to mitigate aviation emissions. This jet fuel, additionally, must meet ASTM International specifications and potentially be a100% drop-in replacement for current petroleum jet fuel. In this study, the current technologies for producing renewable jet fuels, categorized by alcohols-to-jet, oil-to-jet, syngas-to-jet, and sugar-to-jet pathways are reviewed for process, economic analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) on conversion pathways to bio-jet fuel.

• ALGAE
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.257-266
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• 2016

Nitrogen is one of the most critical nutrients affecting cell growth and biochemical composition of microalgae, ultimately determining the lipid or carbohydrate productivity for biofuels. In order to investigate the effect of nitrogen sources on the cell growth and biochemical composition of the marine microalga Tetraselmis sp., nine different N sources, including NaNO₃, KNO₃, NH₄NO₃, NH₄HCO₃, NH₄Cl, CH₃COONH₄, urea, glycine, and yeast extract were compared at the given concentration of 8.82 mM. Higher biomass concentration was achieved under organic nitrogen sources, such as yeast extract (2.23 g L⁻¹) and glycine (1.62 g L⁻¹), compared to nitrate- (1.45 g L⁻¹) or ammonium-N (0.98 g L⁻¹). All ammonium sources showed an inhibition of cell growth, but accumulated higher lipids, showing a maximum content of 28.3% in ammonium bicarbonate. When Tetraselmis sp. was cultivated using yeast extract, the highest lipid productivity of 36.0 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹ was achieved, followed by glycine 21.5 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹ and nitrate 19.9 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹. Ammonium bicarbonate resulted in the lowest lipid productivity of 14.4 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹. The major fatty acids in Tetraselmis sp. were palmitic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids, regardless of the nutritional compositions, indicating the suitability of this species for biodiesel production.