Lignocellulosic biomass has potential as a renewable resource for global energy and bioproducts production. Biomass consists of three main polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose is a homopolymer of glucose, while hemicellulose and lignin are heteropolymers. Lignin is primarily made of syringyl (S), guiacayl (G) and p-hydroxyphenyl (H) units. Pretreatment...
The economically viable production of value added fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic feedstocks hinges on our ability to quickly and efficiently transform structural carbon molecules to end products. The sugars in lignocellulosic biomass are held primarily within cellulose and hemicellulose. Cellulose is composed primarily of glucose monomers which are quickly...
Energy production and consumption is a major environmental and economic concern in the world today. Biofuel produced from lignocellulosic biomass is being explored as an alternative energy source to petroleum. Lignocellulosic biomass is comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. To produce biofuels, lignocellulosic biomass must be broken down to expose...
In order to reduce the cost of lignocellulosic ethanol production, a model was previously developed to predict the amount of fermentable sugar released based on parameters concerning both biomass and enzymes. To validate this model, enzymatic hydrolysis must be carried out using individual purified cellulase enzymes. Endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase I (EG I),...
Attributional and consequential life cycle assessments are useful in evaluating the environmental impacts of a process, product, or decision. Both types of life cycle assessments differ however in their scope and their ability to answer specific questions. In order to fully understand and compare the environmental impacts of a sugarcane...
This thesis documents the work carried out investigating the downstream processing of algal biomass for biofuel production. A life cycle assessment was conducted on a hypothetical algal biodiesel process in which it was found drum drying and cell component separation were life cycle intensive processes. A
laboratory experiment was conducted...
The production of fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass has the potential to replace a significant portion of non-renewable transport fuels. Woody feedstocks are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Glucose, the monomer of cellulose, is readily utilized by wild-type S. cerevisiae, but xylose, which comprises 60% of the sugar in...
Enzymatic hydrolysis is a critical process in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and biochemicals. Achieving high efficiencies and productivity during the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass is the key for the commercially viable process. Downstream processing challenges require high product titers which in turn require the use of high...
A major challenge in ethanol production using lignocellulosic feed stock is
inefficient utilization of hemicellulose, which accounts for 30-40% of lignocellulosic
biomass. Xylose, comprising >60% of recoverable sugars from hemicellulose is a
major product of the hemicellulose hydrolysis. Utilization of this carbon source would
significantly increase the ethanol yield from...
Ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstock has been under intense scrutiny as a transportation fuel due to its potential to address concerns of increasing energy consumption, limited fossil energy resources, climate changes due to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and especially use of non-food biomaterials, which address the biggest limitation...
Microalgae has been under careful consideration as a sustainable feedstock for renewable fuel recently due to its year round production with high energy yields per unit area, reduced need for arable land, water treatment benefits with nutrient cycling, and minimal competition with the food industry. Despite of all these advantages,...
Fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for a long period but due to growing concerns over climate change, oil depletion and energy security, the development of renewable sources of energy such as biofuels have been flourishing over the past few decades. Despite the fact that biofuels are...
Cellulosic ethanol production for transportation fuel is one source to help satisfy the increasing worldwide demand for energy and depletion of the fossil fuel supply. Evaluating potential production from plants and waste in Oregon, Washington and Idaho is the purpose of this study. Reed Canary grass, Annual Ryegrass, wheat straw,...
Agricultural systems are inherently complex; understanding these systems requires knowledge of climatology, plant physiology, soil physics, economics, and the human psychology of the farmers themselves. Decision support tools strive to leverage existing data to help guide stakeholders towards the best policies and practices for their situation. Quantitative crop simulation models...
Background, aim and scope: The aim of this study was to perform a well-to-pump life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the overall net energy balance and environmental impact of bioethanol production using Tall Fescue grass straw as feedstock. The energy requirements and green house gas (GHG) emissions were compared to...
Background: During cellulosic ethanol production, cellulose hydrolysis is achieved by synergistic action of cellulase
enzyme complex consisting of multiple enzymes with different mode of actions. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is
one of the bottlenecks in the commercialization of the process due to low hydrolysis rates and high cost of
enzymes....
Full Text:
Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA
*Corresponding Author
GantiS. Murthy
Background: During cellulosic ethanol production, cellulose hydrolysis is achieved by synergistic action of cellulase
enzyme complex consisting of multiple enzymes with different mode of actions. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is
one of the bottlenecks in the commercialization of the process due to low hydrolysis rates and high cost of
enzymes....
Full Text:
molecular model of enzymatic
hydrolysis of cellulose for ethanol production
Deepak Kumar and GantiSMurthy
Background: During cellulosic ethanol production, cellulose hydrolysis is achieved by synergistic action of cellulase
enzyme complex consisting of multiple enzymes with different mode of actions. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is
one of the bottlenecks in the commercialization of the process due to low hydrolysis rates and high cost of
enzymes....
Understanding the interplay between energy and water is central to effective natural resource management. With enough energy it is possible to secure sufficient water, with enough water it is possible to produce nearly boundless energy. The sun is the engine which drives the availability of both these resources; nearly every...
Abstract
Current methods employed in the textile industry are unsustainable because they use an abundance of water in the dying process, and discharge the waste into the environment, causing adverse health effect on aquatic life and local communities. The technology that is in place to remove dye from textile effluents...