• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2017

Lignocellulosic biomass represents a potentially large resource to supply the world's fuel and chemical feedstocks. Enzymatic bioconversion of this substrate offers a reliable strategy for accessing this material under mild reaction conditions. Owing to the complex nature of lignocellulose, many different enzymatic activities are required to function in concert to perform efficient transformation. In nature, large multienzyme complexes are known to effectively hydrolyze lignocellulose into constituent monomeric sugars. We created artificial complexes of enzymes, called rosettazymes, in order to hydrolyze glucuronoxylan, a common lignocellulose component, into its cognate sugar ${\small{D}}$-xylose and then further convert the ${\small{D}}$-xylose into ${\small{D}}$-xylonic acid, a Department of Energy top-30 platform chemical. Four different types of enzymes (endoxylanase, ${\alpha}$-glucuronidase, ${\beta}$-xylosidase, and xylose dehydrogenase) were incorporated into the artificial complexes. We demonstrated that tethering our enzymes in a complex resulted in significantly more activity (up to 71%) than the same amount of enzymes free in solution. We also determined that varying the enzyme composition affected the level of complex-related activity enhancement as well as overall yield.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.81-91
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• 2011

Current fuel ethanol research and development deals with process engineering trends for improving biotechnological production of ethanol. Recently, a large amount of studies regarding the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as a good feedstock for producing fuel ethanol is being carried out worldwide. The plant biomass is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The main challenge in the conversion of biomass into ethanol is the complex, rigid and harsh structures which require efficient process and cost effective to break down. The isolation of microorganisms is one of the means for obtaining enzymes with properties suitable for industrial applications. For these reasons, crude cultures containing cellulosic biomass degrading microorganisms were isolated from rice field soil, cow farm soil and rotten rice straw from cow farm. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), xylan and Avicel (microcrystalline cellulose) degradation zone of clearance on agar platefrom rice field soil resulted approximately at 25 mm, 24 mm and 22 mm respectively. As for cow farm soil, CMC, xylan and Avicel degradation clearancezone on agar plate resulted around at 24mm, 23mm and 21 mm respectively. Rotten rice straw from cow farm also resulted for CMC, xylan and Avicel degradation zone almost at 24 mm, 23 mm and 22 mm respectively. The objective of this study is to isolatebiomass degrading microbial strains having good efficiency in cellulose hydrolysis and observed the effects of different substrates (CMC, xylan and Avicel) on the production of cellulase enzymes (endo-glucanase, exo-glucanase, cellobiase, xylanase and avicelase) for producing low cost biofuel from cellulosic materials.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.34-45
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• 2016

Global warming and climate change have been caused by combustion of fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases contributed to the rise of temperature between $0.6^{\circ}C$ and $0.9^{\circ}C$ over the past century. Presently, fossil fuels account for about 88% of the commercial energy sources used. In developing countries, fossil fuels are a very attractive energy source because they are available and relatively inexpensive. The environmental problems with fossil fuels have been aggravating stress from already existing factors including acid deposition, urban air pollution, and climate change. In order to control greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, fossil fuels must be replaced by eco-friendly fuels such as biomass. The use of renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly necessary. The biomass resources are the most common form of renewable energy. The conversion of biomass into energy can be achieved in a number of ways. The most common form of converted biomass is pellet fuels as biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets from lignocellulosic biomass has compared to conventional fuels with a relatively low bulk and energy density and a low degree of homogeneity. Thermal pretreatment technology like torrefaction is applied to improve fuel efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass, i.e., less moisture and oxygen in the product, preferrable grinding properties, storage properties, etc.. During torrefacton, lignocelluosic biomass such as palm kernell shell (PKS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) was roasted under an oxygen-depleted enviroment at temperature between 200 and $300^{\circ}C$. Low degree of thermal treatment led to the removal of moisture and low molecular volatile matters with low O/C and H/C elemental ratios. The mechanical characteristics of torrefied biomass have also been altered to a brittle and partly hydrophobic materials. Unfortunately, it was much harder to form pellets from torrefied PKS and EFB due to thermal degradation of lignin as a natural binder during torrefaction compared to non-torrefied ones. For easy pelletization of biomass with torrefaction, pellets from PKS and EFB were manufactured before torrefaction, and thereafter they were torrefied at different temperature. Even after torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, their appearance was well preserved with better fuel efficiency than non-torrefied ones. The physical properties of the torrefied pellets largely depended on the torrefaction condition such as reaction time and reaction temperature. Temperature over $250^{\circ}C$ during torrefaction gave a significant impact on the fuel properties of the pellets. In particular, torrefied EFB pellets displayed much faster development of the fuel properties than did torrefied PKS pellets. During torrefaction, extensive carbonization with the increase of fixed carbons, the behavior of thermal degradation of torrefied biomass became significantly different according to the increase of torrefaction temperature. In conclusion, pelletization of PKS and EFB before torrefaction made it much easier to proceed with torrefaction of pellets from PKS and EFB, leading to excellent eco-friendly fuels.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1669-1679
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• 2015

The quest to broaden the narrow range of feed ingredients available to pig producers has prompted research on the use of low cost, unconventional feedstuffs, which are typically fibrous and abundant. Maize cobs, a by-product of a major cereal grown worldwide, have potential to be used as a pig feed ingredient. Presently, maize cobs are either dumped or burnt for fuel. The major challenge in using maize cobs in pig diets is their lignocellulosic nature (45% to 55% cellulose, 25% to 35% hemicellulose, and 20% to 30% lignin) which is resistant to pigs' digestive enzymes. The high fiber in maize cobs (930 g neutral detergent fiber/kg dry matter [DM]; 573 g acid detergent fiber/kg DM) increases rate of passage and sequestration of nutrients in the fiber reducing their digestion. However, grinding, heating and fermentation can modify the structure of the fibrous components in the maize cobs and improve their utilization. Pigs can also extract up to 25% of energy maintenance requirements from fermentation products. In addition, dietary fiber improves pig intestinal health by promoting the growth of lactic acid bacteria, which suppress proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in the intestines. This paper reviews maize cob composition and the effect on digestibility of nutrients, intestinal microflora and growth performance and proposes the use of ensiling using exogenous enzymes to enhance utilization in diets of pigs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1403-1412
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• 2013

Ethanol fuel production from lignocellulosic biomass is emerging as one of the most important technologies for sustainable development. To use this biomass, it is necessary to circumvent the physical and chemical barriers presented by the cohesive combination of the main biomass components, which hinders the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars. This study evaluated the hydrolytic capacity of enzymes produced by yeasts, isolated from the soils of the Brazilian Cerrado biome (savannah) and the Amazon region, on sugarcane bagasse pre-treated with $H_2SO_4$. Among the 103 and 214 yeast isolates from the Minas Gerais Cerrado and the Amazon regions, 18 (17.47%) and 11 (5.14%) isolates, respectively, were cellulase-producing. Cryptococcus laurentii was prevalent and produced significant ${\beta}$-glucosidase levels, which were higher than the endo- and exoglucanase activities. In natura sugarcane bagasse was pre-treated with 2% $H_2SO_4$ for 30 min at $150^{\circ}C$. Subsequently, the obtained fibrous residue was subjected to hydrolysis using the Cryptococcus laurentii yeast enzyme extract for 72 h. This enzyme extract promoted the conversion of approximately 32% of the cellulose, of which 2.4% was glucose, after the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction, suggesting that C. laurentii is a good ${\beta}$-glucosidase producer. The results presented in this study highlight the importance of isolating microbial strains that produce enzymes of biotechnological interest, given their extensive application in biofuel production.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2020

The bio-oil produced from the fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass contains a high amount of oxygenates, causing variation in the properties of bio-oil, such as instability, high acidity, and low heating value, reducing the quality of the bio-oil. Consequently, an upgrading process should be recommended ensuring that these bio-oils are widely used as fuel sources. Catalytic fast pyrolysis has attracted a great deal of attention as a promising method for producing upgraded bio-oil from biomass feedstock. In this study, the fast pyrolysis of tulip tree was performed in a bubbling fluidized-bed reactor under different reaction temperatures, with and without catalysts, to investigate the effects of pyrolysis temperature and catalysts on product yield and bio-oil quality. The system used silica sand, ferric oxides (Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄), and H-ZSM-5 as the fluidized-bed material and nitrogen as the fluidizing medium. The liquid yield reached the highest value of 49.96 wt% at 450 ℃, using Fe₂O₃ catalyst, compared to 48.45 wt% for H-ZSM-5, 47.57 wt% for Fe₃O₄ and 49.03 wt% with sand. Catalysts rejected oxygen mostly as water and produced a lower amount of CO and CO₂, but a higher amount of H₂ and hydrocarbon gases. The catalytic fast pyrolysis showed a high ratio of H₂/CO than sand as a bed material.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.448-452
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• 2016

This study is for the effective pretreatment and saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass for a transport fuel receiving attention. The waste water during the pretreatment of biomass is major factor for determining the price of biofuel. Therefore, we conducted high concentration of organosolv pretreatment for decline waste water and reusing the solvent. We confirmed effect of organosolv pretreatment by components analysis and enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated biomass. The corn stover was used for and 99.5 wt% of ethanol as a organosolv pretreatment. The pretreatment condition was varied 130 to $190^{\circ}C$ during the designated reaction times and the effect of pretreatment was investigated by enzymatic hydrolysis. The highest glucose conversion was more than 68% the pretreatment condition of $190^{\circ}C$ for 70 min or more. The solid remaining was more than 70% and almost of cellulose and hemicellulose were survived.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.335-350
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• 2013

With the efforts to development of renewable energy technologies, and increasing awareness to environmental issues, the usage of wood pallets has been increasing every year since the introduction of wood pallet technology to the domestic market. until 2009, majority usage of pellet boiler was in the residential houses. In an effort to increase the distribution of wood pellet boiler to cultivation facilities with high usage of fuels, The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has launched a distribution project of wood pellet boiler for fuel usage as a part of the agricultural and fishery energy efficiency projects. Although only small number of farms with a heat-culturing facility have replaced from conventional boiler to pellet boiler. Although part of reason for low usage of pallet boiler is lack of understanding and information of it, the main reasons are high initial cost and uncertainty of its cost efficiency. Also, most people from agricultural industry don't realize it's significance in terms of environmental benefit due to lack of understanding in 'resource circulation' and 'adopting to climate change'. In this study, first, we did a cost-efficiency analysis of the farm which uses a diesel boiler to grow cucumber, tomato, paprika. Then we replaced the diesel boiler to a pallet boiler and measured its cost-efficiency again. By comparing the cost-efficiency of the diesel boiler with the pellet boiler, we analyzed the economic viability of pellet boiler. Then we analyzed viability of pallet boiler usage in terms of 'resource circulation' and 'adopting to climate change'. As a result of our analysis, we have found out that under the current system of government support, the energy usage varies depends of the types crops grown and the higher the energy use, the more cost efficient it is to use the pallet boiler. Also, it is economically viable to use the pallet boiler in terms of 'resource circulation' and 'adopting to climate change'.