The Future of Fermentation Technology in the Biorefining Process: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2024) | Viewed by 7841

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Institute of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: lipase-catalyzed ester synthesis; lipophilization; enzymatic (trans)esterification; whole-cell modification of phenolic compounds; microbiology; yarrowia lipolytica; lipases biosynthesis; antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds; microbial enzymes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition from a fossil-based economy to a circular bioeconomy requires the development of a high industrial symbiotic readiness level, continuous scientific innovations, and radical changes in the infrastructure of current industries. Biorefineries can play a crucial role in establishing this new type of economy, increasing the efficiencies of raw materials with the circular use of biomass and promoting the production of biochemicals and high-added-value compounds from industrial by-products and waste streams.

The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase the latest advancements in fermentation technology and bioprocessing for upgrading key industrial sectors into modern biorefineries, raising the awareness of all stakeholders on opportunities for utilizing waste and by-product streams from major industrial activities for the production of platform chemicals and biopolymers. Special attention will be given to the following research topics: (i) fermentation as the core bioprocess in biorefinery development; (ii) alternative raw materials as potential feedstocks for industrial biotechnology applications; (iii) innovative pretreatment (fractionation of raw materials) and advanced downstream processing (product separation and recovery) technologies coupled with efficient and innovative fermentation processes; (iv) pilot-scale, demo-scale, and commercial-scale case studies on biorefineries using fermentation as the main process; and (v) sustainability assessment tools to measure the socio-economic and environmental performance of these innovative facilities.

Dr. Bartłomiej Zieniuk
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bioprocessing
  • biorefinery
  • alternative raw materials
  • utilization of industrial side streams
  • sustainability assessment

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2805 KiB  
Article
Soy Molasses as Culture Medium for Bacillus Species Aiming at Plant Growth Promotion
by Ana Paula Fragoso Correa da Silva, Bianca Santa Rosa Dorigan, José Machado da Silva-Neto, Marcia Maria Rosa-Magri, Fabricio Rossi, Kelly Roberta Francisco, Sandra Regina Ceccato-Antonini and Anastácia Fontanetti
Fermentation 2024, 10(8), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10080403 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 803
Abstract
Soy molasses, a by-product from the processing of soy protein concentrate, is a low-cost feedstock for fermentation processes due to its high content of fermentable sugars. This work investigates the use of soy molasses for growing Bacillus species, aiming at their potential application [...] Read more.
Soy molasses, a by-product from the processing of soy protein concentrate, is a low-cost feedstock for fermentation processes due to its high content of fermentable sugars. This work investigates the use of soy molasses for growing Bacillus species, aiming at their potential application as plant growth promoters. Firstly, six Bacillus strains were screened for their ability to grow in increasing concentrations of soy molasses in a microplate assay. Following this, shaken-flask assays for growth and γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) production by three Bacillus strains in medium E and soy molasses media with 28 and 56 g L−1 of total reducing sugars (TRS) were carried out. An in vivo experiment evaluated the effect of the bacterial fermented broths on the germination and initial development of maize. Soy molasses supported the growth of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus licheniformis in concentrations of 28 and 56 g L−1 TRS, but it was inhibitory at 112 and 224 g L−1 TRS. In soy molasses media, growth was not always associated with γ-PGA production, which was a maximum of 56 g L−1 TRS for B. amyloliquefaciens and B. licheniformis. Fermented broths with B. subtilis and B. licheniformis in soy molasses media (56 and 28 g L−1 TRS, respectively) applied to maize seeds resulted in the highest Vigor Indexes of the seedlings, which correlated negatively with the broth pH and were not impacted by the γ-PGA and indole acetic acid produced by the bacteria. The low-cost and easily available feedstock soy molasses constitutes a potential culture medium for the growth of plant growth-promoting bacteria. Full article
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17 pages, 1825 KiB  
Article
Melanoidin Content Determines the Primary Pathways in Glucose Dark Fermentation: A Preliminary Assessment of Kinetic and Microbial Aspects
by Carolina Nemeth Comparato, Matheus Neves de Araujo, Isabel Kimiko Sakamoto, Lucas Tadeu Fuess, Márcia Helena Rissato Zamariolli Damianovic and Ariovaldo José da Silva
Fermentation 2024, 10(6), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10060272 - 23 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 967
Abstract
Melanoidins are heterogeneous polymers with a high molecular weight and brown color formed during the Maillard reaction by the combination of sugars and amino acids at high temperatures with the potential to inhibit the microbial activity in bioprocesses. This study assessed the impacts [...] Read more.
Melanoidins are heterogeneous polymers with a high molecular weight and brown color formed during the Maillard reaction by the combination of sugars and amino acids at high temperatures with the potential to inhibit the microbial activity in bioprocesses. This study assessed the impacts of melanoidins on the kinetic of substrate conversion and production of organic acids via dark fermentation using microbial consortia as inoculum. The investigations were carried out in fed-batch reactors using synthetic melanoidins following glucose-to-melanoidin ratios (G/M; g-glucose g−1 melanoidins) of 0.50, 1.50, 1.62, 1.67, and 5.00, also considering a melanoidin-free control reactor. The results showed that melanoidins negatively impacted the kinetics of glucose fermentation by decreasing the first-order decay constant (k1): when dosing equivalent initial concentrations of glucose (ca. 3 g L−1), the absence of melanoidins led to a k1 of 0.62 d−1, whilst dosing 2 g L−1 (G/M = 1.5) and 6.0 g L−1 (G/M = 0.5) of melanoidins produced k1 values of 0.37 d−1 and 0.27 d−1, respectively. The production of butyric and acetic acids was also negatively impacted by melanoidins, whilst the lactic activity was not impaired by the presence of these compounds. Lactate production reached ca. 1000 mg L−1 in G/M = 1.67, whilst no lactate was detected in the control reactor. The presence of melanoidins was demonstrated to be a selective metabolic driver, decreasing the microbial diversity compared to the control reactor and favoring the growth of Lactobacillus. These results highlight the importance of further understanding the impacts of melanoidins on melanoidin-rich organic wastewater bioconversion, such as sugarcane vinasse, which are abundantly available in biorefineries. Full article
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13 pages, 2252 KiB  
Article
Fermentation of Sugar by Thermotolerant Hansenula polymorpha Yeast for Ethanol Production
by Adnan Asad Karim, Mª Lourdes Martínez-Cartas and Manuel Cuevas-Aranda
Fermentation 2024, 10(5), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10050260 - 16 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1175
Abstract
Hansenula polymorpha is a non-conventional and thermo-tolerant yeast that is well-known for its use in the industrial production of recombinant proteins. However, research to evaluate this yeast’s potential for the high-temperature fermentation of sugar to produce alcohols for biofuel applications is limited. The [...] Read more.
Hansenula polymorpha is a non-conventional and thermo-tolerant yeast that is well-known for its use in the industrial production of recombinant proteins. However, research to evaluate this yeast’s potential for the high-temperature fermentation of sugar to produce alcohols for biofuel applications is limited. The present work investigated a wild-type H. polymorpha strain (DSM 70277) for the production of ethanol at a temperature of 40 °C under limited oxygen presence by using a batch fermentation reactor. Fermentation experiments were performed using three types of sugar (glucose, fructose, xylose) as substrates with two initial inoculum concentrations (1.1 g·L−1 and 5.0 g·L−1). The maximum specific growth rates of H. polymorpha yeast were 0.121–0.159 h−1 for fructose, 0.140–0.175 h−1 for glucose, and 0.003–0.009 h−1 for xylose. The biomass volumetric productivity was 0.270–0.473 g·L−1h−1 (fructose), 0.185–0.483 g·L−1h−1 (glucose), and 0.001–0.069 g·L−1h−1 (xylose). The overall yield of ethanol from glucose (0.470 g·g−1) was higher than that from fructose (0.434 g·g−1) and xylose (0.071 g·g−1). The H. polymorpha yeast exhibited different behavior and efficacy regarding the use of glucose, fructose, and xylose as substrates for producing ethanol. The present knowledge could be applied to improve the fermentation process for valorization of waste biomass to produce bioethanol. Full article
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20 pages, 3098 KiB  
Article
Photoautotrophic Production of Docosahexaenoic Acid- and Eicosapentaenoic Acid-Enriched Biomass by Co-Culturing Golden-Brown and Green Microalgae
by Anna-Lena Thurn, Josef Schobel and Dirk Weuster-Botz
Fermentation 2024, 10(4), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10040220 - 18 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1556
Abstract
Marine microalgae offer a sustainable alternative source for the human diet’s essential omega-3-fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5). However, none of them can produce DHA and EPA in a nutritionally balanced ratio of 1:1. As shown recently, [...] Read more.
Marine microalgae offer a sustainable alternative source for the human diet’s essential omega-3-fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5). However, none of them can produce DHA and EPA in a nutritionally balanced ratio of 1:1. As shown recently, the phototrophic co-cultivation of the golden-brown microalgae Tisochrysis lutea (DHA producer) with the green microalgae Microchloropsis salina (EPA producer) can provide microalgae biomass with a balanced DHA-to-EPA ratio with increased productivity compared to monocultures. This study evaluates whether other golden-brown (Isochrysis galbana) and green microalgae (Nannochloropsis oceanica, Microchloropsis gaditana) can enable the phototrophic batch production of omega-3 fatty acids in a nutritionally balanced ratio in co-culture. All co-cultivations applying a physically dynamic climate simulation of a repeated sunny summer day in Australia in LED-illuminated flat-plate gas lift photobioreactors resulted in increased biomass concentrations compared to their respective monocultures, achieving balanced DHA-to-EPA ratios of almost 1:1. Using urea instead of nitrate as a nitrogen source increased the EPA content by up to 80% in all co-cultures. Light spectra measurements on the light-adverted side of the photobioreactor showed that increased biomass concentrations in co-cultures could have been related to enhanced light use due to the utilization of different wavelengths of the two microalgae strains, especially with the use of green light (500–580 nm) primarily by golden-brown microalgae (I. galbana) and orange light (600–620 nm) predominantly used by green microalgae (N. oceanica). Phototrophic co-cultivation processes thus promise higher areal biomass yields if microalgae are combined with complimentary light-harvesting features. Full article
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Review

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32 pages, 1731 KiB  
Review
Algal-Based Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactors for Efficient Wastewater Treatment: A Comprehensive Review
by Muhammad Uzair Javed, Hamid Mukhtar, Bartłomiej Zieniuk and Umer Rashid
Fermentation 2024, 10(3), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10030131 - 26 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2570
Abstract
The treatment of living organisms is a critical aspect of various environmental and industrial applications, ranging from wastewater treatment to aquaculture. In recent years, algal-based hollow fiber membrane bioreactors (AHFMBRs) have emerged as a promising technology for the sustainable and efficient treatment of [...] Read more.
The treatment of living organisms is a critical aspect of various environmental and industrial applications, ranging from wastewater treatment to aquaculture. In recent years, algal-based hollow fiber membrane bioreactors (AHFMBRs) have emerged as a promising technology for the sustainable and efficient treatment of living organisms. This review provides a comprehensive examination of AHFMBRs, exploring their integration with algae and hollow fiber membrane systems for diverse applications. It also examines the applications of AHFMBRs in various areas, such as nutrient removal, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. The paper discusses the advantages and challenges associated with AHFMBRs, highlights their performance assessment and optimization strategies, and investigates their environmental impacts and sustainability considerations. The study emphasizes the potential of AHFMBRs in achieving enhanced nutrient removal, bioremediation, and pharmaceutical removal while also addressing important considerations such as energy consumption, resource efficiency, and ecological implications. Additionally, it identifies key challenges and offers insights into future research directions. Through a systematic analysis of relevant studies, this review aims to contribute to the understanding and advancement of algal-based hollow fiber membrane bioreactors as a viable solution for the treatment of living organisms. Full article
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