Doohong Min

Production of free fatty acids from switchgrass using recombinant Escherichia coli

Switchgrass is a promising feedstock to generate fermentable sugars required for the sustainable operation of biorefineries because of their abundant availability, easy cropping system, and high cellulosic content. The objective of this study was to investigate the potentiality of switchgrass as an alternative sugar supplier for free fatty acid (FFA) production using engineered Escherichia coli strains. Recombinant E. coli strains successfully produced FFAs using switchgrass hydrolysates. A total of about 3 g/L FFAs were attained from switchgrass hydrolysates by engineered E. coli strains. Furthermore, overall yield assessments of our bioconversion process showed that 88 and 46% of the theoretical maximal yields of glucose and xylose were attained from raw switchgrass during sugar generation. Additionally, 72% of the theoretical maximum yield of FFAs were achieved from switchgrass hydrolysates by recombinant E. coli during fermentation. These shake‐flask results were successfully scaled up to a laboratory scale bioreactor with a 4 L working volume. This study demonstrated an efficient bioconversion process of switchgrass‐based FFAs using an engineered microbial system for targeting fatty acid production that are secreted into the fermentation broth with associated lower downstream processing costs, which is pertinent to develop an integrated bioconversion process using lignocellulosic biomass.

Accuracy evaluation of the crop-weather yield predictive models of Italian ryegrass and forage rye using cross-validation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the yield predictive models of Italian ryegrass (IRG, Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and forage rye (FR, Secale cereale L.) reported in previous studies through K-fold cross-validation method. In previous studies, statistical models were constructed for dry matter yield prediction of IRG and FR using general linear model based on climatic data by locations in the Republic of Korea. The yield predictive model for IRG cultivated in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island were DMY = 78.178AGD–254.622MTJ + 64.156SGD–76.954PAT150 + 4.711SAP + 1028.295 + Location and DMY =–8.044AAT + 18.640SDS–7.542SAT + 9.610SAP + 17282.191, respectively. The yield predictive model for FR was as follows: DMY = 20.999AGD + 163.705LTJ + 113.716SGD + 64.379PAT100–4964.728 + Location. However, accuracy evaluation was not performed in the previous research. In this study, the reported models and the data set used for model construction were investigated. Subsequently, K-fold cross-validation was performed to assess the accuracy of the models. The results showed that the yield predictive models fit to the data sets well, while the accuracy of these models was in the common level since the data sources might keep major variances in cultivars, climatic conditions, and cultivated locations. Therefore, models with better fitness and accuracy might be constructed based on a data set with smaller variance. Hence, the standardization of the crop cultivation experiments is very necessary to decrease the variance in the historical data used for future crop yield modeling.

Impact of Nitrogen Application Rate on Switchgrass Yield, Production Costs, and Nitrous Oxide Emissions

Switchgrass ( L.) has been promoted as a potential feedstock for cellulosic biofuel in the United States. Switchgrass is known to respond to N fertilizer, but optimal rates remain unclear. Given the potential nonlinear response of nitrous oxide (NO) emissions to N inputs, N additions to switchgrass above optimal levels could have large impacts on the greenhouse gas balance of switchgrass-based biofuel. Additionally, N additions are likely to have large impacts on switchgrass production costs. Yield, N removal, and net returns were measured in switchgrass receiving 0 to 200 kg N ha in Manhattan, KS, from 2012 to 2014. Emissions of NO were measured in the 0- to 150-kg N ha treatments. Total emissions of NO increased from 0.2 to 3.0 kg NO-N ha as N inputs increased from 0 to 150 kg N ha. The 3-yr averages of fertilizer-induced emission factors were 0.7, 2.1, and 2.6% at 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha, respectively. Removal of N at harvest increased linearly with increasing N rate. Switchgrass yields increased with N inputs up to 100 to 150 kg N ha, but the critical N level for maximum yields decreased each year, suggesting that N was being applied in excess at higher N rates. Net returns were maximized at 100 kg N ha at both a high and low urea cost (US

Yield, Morphological Characteristics, and Chemical Composition of European- and Mediterranean-Derived Birdsfoot Trefoil Cultivars Grown in the Colder Continental United States

394.71 and

Sustainable Production of Microbial Lipids from Lignocellulosic Biomass Using Oleaginous Yeast Cultures

945.91 ha, respectively). These results demonstrate that N inputs were necessary to increase switchgrass productivity, but rates exceeding optimal levels resulted in excessive NO emissions and increased costs for producers.