Hongman Zhang

Dilute sulfuric acid cycle spray flow-through pretreatment of corn stover for enhancement of sugar recovery.

A cycle spray flow-through reactor was designed and used to pretreat corn stover in dilute sulfuric acid medium. The dilute sulfuric acid cycle spray flow-through (DCF) process enhanced xylose sugar yields and cellulose digestibility while increasing the removal of lignin. Within the DCF system, the xylose sugar yields of 90-93% could be achieved for corn stover pretreated with 2% (w/v) dilute sulfuric acid at 95 degrees C during the optimal reaction time (90 min). The remaining solid residue exhibited enzymatic digestibility of 90-95% with cellulase loading of 60 FPU/g glucan that was due to the effective lignin removal (70-75%) in this process. Compared with flow-through and compress-hot water pretreatment process, the DCF method produces a higher sugar concentration and higher xylose monomer yield. The novel DCF process provides a feasible approach for lignocellulosic material pretreatment.

Hydrolytic Enzyme of Cellulose for Complex Formulation Applied Research

To improve the enzymatic hydrolytic efficiency and reduce the supplementation of enzymes, the mixture designed experimental approach was used to optimize the composition of enzyme mixture and promote the hydrolysis of ball-milled corn stover. From the experimental results, a synergistic effect was found when combinations of the three enzymes, two kinds of cellulases and a kind of xylanase, were used. The optimal hydrolysis of pretreated corn stover accorded with enzymes activity ration of FPU/CMCase/β-glucosidase/xylanase = 4.4:1:75:829, and the hydrolysis efficiency of corn stover increased significantly compared with using individual enzyme. The results indicated that the mixture design experiment could be an effective tool for optimized enzyme mixture for lignocellulose hydrolysis.

Screw extrude steam explosion: a promising pretreatment of corn stover to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis.

A screw extrude steam explosion (SESE) apparatus was designed and introduced to pretreat corn stover continuously for its following enzymatic hydrolysis. SESE parameters temperature (100, 120, 150°C) and residence time (1, 2, 3min) were investigated. The enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover pretreated by SESE and steam explosion (SE) process was carried out and analyzed systematically. A serial of analysis methods were established, and the corn stover before/after the pretreatment were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermal Gravity/Derivative Thermal Gravity Analysis (TG/DTG). After treated by SESE pretreatment at the optimum condition (150°C, 2min), the pretreated corn stover exhibited highest enzymatic hydrolysis yield (89%), and rare fermentation inhibitors formed. Characterization results indicated that the highest yield could be attributed to the effective removal of lignin/hemicellulose and destruction of cellulose structure by SESE pretreatment.

Pervaporation behavior and integrated process for concentrating lignocellulosic ethanol through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane

The effects of by-products from ethanol fermentation and hydrolysates of lignocelluloses on ethanol diffusion through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes with/without silicalite-1 were investigated. A pervaporation process was integrated with lignocellulosic fermentation to concentrate bioethanol using bare PDMS membranes. Results showed that yeasts, solid particles, and salts increased ethanol flux and selectivity through the membranes (PDMS with/without silicalite-1), whereas glucose exerted negative effects on the performance. On bare PDMS membrane, the performance was not obviously affected by the existence of aliphatic acids. However, on PDMS-silicalite-1 membrane, a remarkable decrease in ethanol selectivity and a rapid growth of total flux in the presence of aliphatic acids were observed. These phenomena were due to the interaction of acids with silanol (Si–OH) groups to break the dense membrane surface. On the PDMS membranes with/without silicalite-1, degradation products of lignocellulosic hydrolysates such as furfural and hydroxyacetone slightly influenced separation performance. These results revealed that an integrated process can effectively eliminate product inhibition, improve ethanol productivity, and enhance the glucose conversion rate.

A novel high-flux asymmetric p(VDF–HFP) membrane with a dense skin for ethanol pervaporation

An asymmetric p(VDF–HFP) pervaporation membrane with an ultra-thin dense skin layer was fabricated through the controlled solvent evaporation method and the two step-coagulation bath-phase-inversion method. The membrane was used to concentrate ethanol from an aqueous solution. The total flux reached 2.4 kg m−2 h−1. Ethanol was concentrated from 5.1 wt% to 24.0 wt%.

Characterization of Lignins Isolated from Alkali Treated Prehydrolysate of Corn Stover

Abstract Lignins were isolated and purified from alkali treated prehydrolysate of corn stover. The paper presents the structural features of lignins in a series purification processes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-vis spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to analyze the chemical structure. Ther-mogravimetric analysis was applied to follow the thermal degradation, and wet chemical method was used to determine the sugar content. The results showed that the crude lignin from the prehydrolysate of corn stover was a heterogeneous material of syringyl, guaiacyl and p-hydroxyphenyl units, containing associated polysaccharides, lipids, and melted salts. Some of the crude lignin was chemically linked to hemicelluloses (mainly xylan). The lipids in crude lignin were probably composed of saturated and/or unsaturated long carbon chains, fatty acids, triterpenols, waxes, and derivatives of aromatic. The sugar content of purified lignin was less than 2.11%, mainly composed of guaiacyl units. DTGmax of puri-fied lignin was 359 °C. The majority of the hydroxyl groups were phenolic hydroxyl groups. The main type of linkages in purified lignin was β-O-4. Other types of linkages included β-5, β-β and a-O-4.

Investigation on the self-assembled behaviors of C18 unsaturated fatty acids in arginine aqueous solution

In the field of drug delivery, there is growing concern over the self-assembly of fatty acids, since their structures and properties are similar to liposomes, which are characteristically nontoxic for humans, possess good biocompatibility and biodegradation, and are without immunogenicity. Changes in pH, temperature, concentration, molecular structure of the amphiphilic molecule, head group type and hydrocarbon chain length have significant effects on the self-assembled structures; however, the degree of unsaturation can also influence the self-assembled structures of fatty acids. The aggregation behaviors of the mixtures of arginine and three kinds of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid) in aqueous solutions have been investigated. Phase transition from transparent micelles (L1 phase) to birefringent bilayer structures (Lα phase) occurred with increasing amounts of UFAs. However, the Lα phase was different for macro and micro structures. Oleic acid with only one double bond was regarded as less flexible and curved, but with higher stacking, leading to a gradual phase transition process from the vesicle phase to the stacked lamellar phase in the Lα phase region, which could be proved by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and polarizing microscopy observations combined with 2H-nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR) and rheological properties. The turbid vesicle phase with weak viscoelastic properties were only observed in linoleic acid and linolenic acid systems because UFAs with more than one double bond are easier to bend, indicating that highly curved vesicles are likely to form. Through the analysis of the proposed mechanism and FT-IR spectra, the synergistic effects of non-covalent interactions, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, and hydrophobicity, were considered to be responsible for the aggregation behaviors. Finally, vesicles displayed their potential in encapsulating water-soluble model drugs such as calcein. The results show that drug-loaded vesicles could play a role in the potential applications in drug sustained delivery systems.

Effects of aeration on metabolic profiles of Mortierella alpina during the production of arachidonic acid

To investigate the metabolic regulation against oxygen supply, comparative metabolomics was performed to explore the metabolic responses of Mortierella alpina in the process of arachidonic acid (ARA) production. More than 110 metabolites involved in Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway, pentose phosphate pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, inositol phosphate metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and amino acid metabolism were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Samples at different aeration rates were clearly distinguished by principal components analysis and partial least squares analysis, indicating that oxygen supply had a profound effect on the metabolism of M. alpina. Eleven major metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers to be primarily responsible for the difference of metabolism. Further study of metabolic changes with the relevant pathways demonstrated that the levels of several intermediate metabolites in relation to central carbon metabolism changed remarkably via both processes and citrate and malate was supposed to play vital roles in polyunsaturated acid (PUFA) synthesis. Increase of myo-inositol and sorbitol were probably for osmo-regulation and redox balance, while enhanced phosphoric acid and pyroglutamic acid were supposed to have function in the activation of signal transduction pathway for stress resistance. The present study provides a novel insight into the metabolic responses of M. alpina to aeration rates and the metabolic characteristics during the ARA fermentation.

Phase behaviors and self-assembled properties of ion-pairing amphiphile molecules formed by medium-chain fatty acids and L-arginine triggered by external conditions

Fatty acids, composed of an amphiphilic carbon chain and a carboxyl group, are a simple class of anion surfactants when they are protonated in the presence of an alkali. They can form ion-pairing amphiphile molecules and self-assemble into different nanostructures, which can be widely applied. However, the phase transition of these nanostructures can be easily triggered by external conditions, such as pH, temperature, the addition of salts and so on. In this work, medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) containing 8–12 carbons were chosen as the objects for self-assembly with organic amino counter-ions, L-arginine. We investigated the effects of chain length, pH, temperature and solvent on the phase transition based on diagrams, which could be determined by freeze fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF-TEM) and polarizing microscopy observations (PMO) combined with rheological properties. The results showed that rich phase behavior was observed in the octanoic acid (C8:0) system. However, it was insensitive to changes in pH because of the lower hydrophobicity. In contrast, for decanoic acid (C10:0) and lauric acid (C12:0) systems, phase transition from the L1 phase (micelles) to the Lα phase (vesicles) was observed and they showed stimulus-response to the change of pH. At the same time, lauric acid was sensitive to temperature, which was ascribed to the higher Krafft point. Besides, when the solvent was replaced by glycerin, phase transitions occurred from vesicles to micelles in these three systems. We hope that this phase transition observed in the MCFA system will provide a good insight into drug delivery, material science, and other related areas.