Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale

A review on bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) for the syngas and value added biochemicals production

Bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) are the microbial systems which are employed to produce electricity directly from organic wastes along with some valuable chemicals production such as medium chain fatty acids; acetate, butyrate and alcohols. In this review, recent updates about value-added chemicals production concomitantly with the production of gaseous fuels like hydrogen and methane which are considered as cleaner for the environment have been addressed. Additionally, the bottlenecks associated with the conversion rates, lower yields and other aspects have been mentioned. In spite of its infant stage development, this would be the future trend of energy, biochemicals and electricity production in greener and cleaner pathway with the win-win situation of organic waste remediation. Henceforth, this review intends to summarise and foster the progress made in the BESs and discusses its challenges and outlook on future research advances.

A comprehensive overview on electro-active biofilms, role of exo-electrogens and their microbial niches in microbial fuel cells (MFCs)

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are biocatalyzed systems which can drive electrical energy by directly converting chemical energy using microbial biocatalyst and are considered as one of the important propitious technologies for sustainable energy production. Much research on MFCs experiments is under way with great potential to become an alternative to produce clean energy from renewable waste. MFCs have been one of the most promising technologies for generating clean energy industry in the future. This article summarizes the important findings in electro-active biofilm formation and the role of exo-electrogens in electron transfer in MFCs. This study provides and brings special attention on the effects of various operating and biological parameters on the biofilm formation in MFCs. In addition, it also highlights the significance of different molecular techniques used in the microbial community analysis of electro-active biofilm. It reviews the challenges as well as the emerging opportunities required to develop MFCs at commercial level, electro-active biofilms and to understand potential application of microbiological niches are also depicted. Thus, this review is believed to widen the efforts towards the development of electro-active biofilm and will provide the research directions to overcome energy and environmental challenges.

Characterization of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) produced from Ralstonia eutropha using an alkali-pretreated biomass feedstock

Alkaline pretreatment using NaOH, KOH, or NaOCl has been applied to various types of waste biomass to enhance enzymatic digestibility. Pretreatment (2% NaOH, 121 °C, 30 min) of rice paddy straw (PS) resulted in a maximum yield of 703 mg of reducing sugar per gram of PS with 84.19% hydrolysis yield after a two-step enzymatic hydrolysis process. Ralstonia eutropha ATCC 17699 was tested for its ability to synthesize poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) using PS hydrolysates as its sole carbon source. It is noteworthy that dry cell weight, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation and PHB yield with the use of laboratory-grade sugars were similar to those achieved with PS-derived sugars. Under optimized conditions, we observed maximal PHA accumulation (75.45%) and PHB production (11.42 g/L) within 48 h of fermentation. After PHB recovery, the physicochemical properties of PHB were determined by various analytical techniques, showed the results were consistent with the characteristics of a standard polymer of PHB. Thus, the PS hydrolysate proved to be an excellent cheap carbon substrate for PHB production.

Biofabrication and characterization of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of seaweed Enteromorpha compressa and its biomedical properties

Highlights • Eloquent biosynthesis of AgNPs using green seaweed Enteromorpha compressa.• Characterization of AgNPs was done by UV–vis, XRD, FTIR, HRTEM, SAED pattern and EDX.• Effective antibacterial activity against different clinical bacterial and fungal pathogens and cytotoxic assay on EAC cells.

Reutilization of green liquor chemicals for pretreatment of whole rice waste biomass and its application to 2,3-butanediol production.

The performance of green liquor pretreatment using Na2CO3 and Na2SO3 and its optimization for whole rice waste biomass (RWB) was investigated. Incubation of Na2CO3-Na2SO3 at a 1:1 ratio (chemical charge 10%) for 12% RWB at 100°C for 6h resulted in maximum delignification (58.2%) with significant glucan yield (88%) and total sugar recovery (545mg/g of RWB) after enzymatic hydrolysis. Recovery and reusability of the resulting chemical spent wash were evaluated to treat RWB along with its compatibility for enzymatic digestibility. Significant hydrolysis and lignin removal were observed for up to three cycles; however, further reuse of Na2CO3 and Na2SO3 lowered their performance. Significant 2,3-butanediol (BDO) was produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae KMK-05 with the RWB enzymatic hydrolysate from each pretreatment cycle. BDO yield achieved using RWB-derived sugars was similar to those using laboratory-grade sugars. This pretreatment strategy constitutes an ecofriendly, cost-effective, and practical method for utilizing lignocellulosic biomass.

Bioelectrochemical systems using microalgae – A concise research update

Excess consumption of energy by humans is compounded by environmental pollution, the greenhouse effect and climate change impacts. Current developments in the use of algae for bioenergy production offer several advantages. Algal biomass is hence considered a new bio-material which holds the promise to fulfil the rising demand for energy. Microalgae are used in effluents treatment, bioenergy production, high value added products synthesis and CO2 capture. This review summarizes the potential applications of algae in bioelectrochemically mediated oxidation reactions in fully biotic microbial fuel cells for power generation and removal of unwanted nutrients. In addition, this review highlights the recent developments directed towards developing different types of microalgae MFCs. The different process factors affecting the performance of microalgae MFC system and some technological bottlenecks are also addressed.

Bio-hythane production from microalgae biomass: Key challenges and potential opportunities for algal bio-refineries

The interest in microalgae for wastewater treatment and liquid bio-fuels production (i.e. biodiesel and bioethanol) is steadily increasing due to the energy demand of the ultra-modern technological world. The associated biomass and by-product residues generated from these processes can be utilized as a feedstock in anaerobic fermentation for the production of gaseous bio-fuels. In this context, dark fermentation coupled with anaerobic digestion can be a potential technology for the production of hydrogen and methane from these residual algal biomasses. The mixture of these gaseous bio-fuels, known as hythane, has superior characteristics and is increasingly regarded as an alternative to fossil fuels. This review provides the current developments achieved in the conversion of algal biomass to bio-hythane (H2+CH4).

Improving alkaline pretreatment method for preparation of whole rice waste biomass feedstock and bioethanol production

Efficient conversion of fermentable sugars from cheap lignocellulosic biomass is currently needed for viable ethanol production technology. This study investigates the efficiency of individual and multiple chemical pretreatment for the saccharification of whole rice waste biomass (RWB). Individual alkaline pretreatment combined with autoclaving provided a maximum yield of 505 mg of reducing sugar with 69.2% hydrolysis yield after two-step enzymatic hydrolysis using 20 filter paperase (FPU) g−1 of RWB. Sequential pretreatment of acidified sodium chlorite and sodium bicarbonate to alkaline pretreated RWB resulted in maximum yield of 725 mg of reducing sugar with hydrolysis yield of 90.6% using a lower enzyme dose (10 FPU g−1 of RWB), indicating the feasibility of the process. The effects of different pretreatments on chemical composition and structural complexity of whole RWB and its relation with saccharification were investigated using various analytical techniques. Finally, the enzymatic hydrolysates of pretreated RWB were found suitable for ethanol production. The maximum sugar consumption and ethanol yield by Saccharomyces cerevisiae SR8 were 95% and 0.465 g g−1 of sugar, respectively. The developed sequential pretreatment showed significant delignification and saccharification of whole RWB at low enzyme dosage. Also efficient conversion of the hydrolysate to ethanol without detoxification demonstrated the feasibility of the process.

Exploiting antidiabetic activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized using Punica granatum leaves and anticancer potential against human liver cancer cells (HepG2)

Abstract This study first time reports the novel synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using a Punica granatum leaf extract (PGE). The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by various analytical techniques including UV–Vis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectra (FESEM-EDS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). FTIR analysis revealed that the involvement of biological macromolecules of P. granatum leaf extract were distributed and involved in the synthesis and stabilization of AgNPs. A surface-sensitive technique of XPS was used to analyse the composition and oxidation state of synthesized AgNPs. The analytical results confirmed that the AgNPs were crystalline in nature with spherical shape. The zeta potential study revealed that the surface charge of synthesized AgNPs was highly negative (−26.6 mV) and particle size distribution was ranging from ∼35 to 60 nm and the average particle size was about 48 nm determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The PGE-AgNPs antidiabetic potential exhibited effective inhibition against α-amylase and α-glucosidase (IC50; 65.2 and 53.8 μg/mL, respectively). The PGE-AgNPs showed a dose-dependent response against human liver cancer cells (HepG2) (IC50; 70 μg/mL) indicating its greater efficacy in killing cancer cells. They also possessed in vitro free radical-scavenging activity in terms of ABTS (IC50; 52.2 μg/mL) and DPPH (IC50; 67.1 μg/mL) antioxidant activity. PGE-AgNPs displayed strong antibacterial activity and potent synergy with standard antibiotics against pathogenic bacteria. Thus, synthesized PGE-AgNPs show potential biomedical and industrial applications.

New insights on the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles using plant and waste biomaterials: current knowledge, their agricultural and environmental applications

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing scientific field and has attracted a great interest over the last few years because of its abundant applications. Green nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that has emerged as a rapidly developing research area, serving as an important technique that emphasize on making the procedure which are clean, non-hazardous, and especially environmentally friendly, in contrast with chemical and physical methods currently employed for nanosynthesis. The biogenic routes could be termed green as these do not involve the use of highly toxic chemicals or elevated energy inputs during the synthesis. Differences in the bio-reducing agents employed for nanosynthesis can lead to the production of nanoparticles (NPs) having distinct shapes, sizes, and bioactivity. The exquitiveness of the green fabricated NPs have capacitated their potential applications in various sectors such as biomedicine, pharmacology, food science, agriculture, and environmental engineering. The present review summarizes current knowledge on various biogenic synthesis methods, relying on plants, waste biomass, and biopolymers and their reducing and stabilizing agents to fabricate nanomaterials. The main emphasis has been given on the current status and future challenges related to the wide-scale fabrication of nanoparticles for environmental remediation, pathogenicity, and agricultural applications.