Kyung A Jung

Potentials of macroalgae as feedstocks for biorefinery

Macroalgae, so-called seaweeds, have recently attracted attention as a possible feedstock for biorefinery. Since macroalgae contain various carbohydrates (which are distinctively different from those of terrestrial biomasses), thorough assessments of macroalgae-based refinery are essential to determine whether applying terrestrial-based technologies to macroalgae or developing completely new technologies is feasible. This comprehensive review was performed to show the potentials of macroalgae as biorefinery feedstocks. Their basic background information was introduced: taxonomical classification, habitat environment, and carbon reserve capacity. Their global production status showed that macroalgae can be mass-cultivated with currently available farming technology. Their various carbohydrate compositions implied that new microorganisms are needed to effectively saccharify macroalgal biomass. Up-to-date macroalgae conversion technologies for biochemicals and biofuels showed that molecular bioengineering would contribute to the success of macroalgae-based biorefinery. It was concluded that more research is required for the utilization of macroalgae as a new promising biomass for low-carbon economy.

Sudden failure of biological nitrogen and carbon removal in the full-scale pre-denitrification process treating cokes wastewater

A full-scale pre-denitrification process treating cokes wastewater containing toxic compounds such as phenols, cyanides and thiocyanate has shown good performance in carbon and nitrogen removal. However, field operators have been having trouble with its instability without being able to identify the causes. To clarify the main cause of these sudden failures of the process, comprehensive studies were conducted on the pre-denitrification process using a lab-scale reactor system with real cokes wastewater. First, the shock loading effects of three major pollutants were investigated individually. As the loading amount of phenol increased to 600 mg/L, more COD, TOC and phenol itself were flowed into the aerobic reactor, but phenol itself did not inhibit nitrification and denitrification, owing to the effect of dilution and its rapid biodegradation. Higher loading of ammonia or thiocyanate slightly enhanced the removal efficiency of organic matter, but caused the final discharge concentration of total nitrogen to be above its legal limit of 60 mg-N/L. Meanwhile, continuous inflow of abnormal wastewater collected during unstable operation of the full-scale pre-denitrification process, caused a sudden failure of nitrogen removal in the lab-scale process, like the removal pattern of the full-scale one. This was discovered to be due to the lack of inorganic carbon in the aerobic reactor where autotrophic nitrification occurs.

Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Seaweed Biomass as Bioethanol Feedstock

Since terrestrial biomass-based ethanol has environmental and economic vulnerability, seaweed-based bioethanol is emerging as a new biofuel. To investigate the sustainability of seaweeds as bioethanol feedstock, this study quantitatively assesses the energy, freshwater, and fertilizer requirements; land-related carbon balance; and bioethanol productivity of seaweed biomass through comparison with terrestrial biomass. Also, the metal resource potential of seaweeds is assessed because valuable metals can be recovered from seaweed fermentation residue. Compared to corn grain and stover, seaweeds exhibit competitive energy requirements and ethanol productivity. Seaweed cultivation does not incur carbon debt derived from land use change and requires less freshwater than corn grain but more than switchgrass in cultivation and fermentation. Seaweed cultivation also does not require fertilizer application despite the high content of nitrogen and phosphorus. Seaweeds exhibit high resource potential for gold and silver. Therefore, seaweed biomass has high potential as a sustainable bioethanol feedstock.

Biological carbon monoxide conversion to acetate production by mixed culture

To utilize waste CO for mixed culture gas fermentation, carbon sources (CO, CO2) and pH were optimized in the batch system to find out the center point and boundary of response surface method (RSM) for higher acetate (HAc) production (center points: 25% CO, 40% CO2, and pH 8). The concentrations of CO and CO2, and pH had significant effects on acetate production, but the pH was the most significant on the HAc production. The optimum condition for HAc production in the gas fermentation was 20.81% CO, 41.38% CO2, 37.81% N2, and pH 7.18. The continuous gas fermentation under the optimum condition obtained 1.66g/L of cell DW, 23.6g/L HAc, 3.11g/L propionate, and 3.42g/L ethanol.

A genetic approach for microbial electrosynthesis system as biocommodities production platform

Microbial electrosynthesis is a process that can produce biocommodities from the reduction of substrates with microbial catalysts and an external electron supply. This process is expected to become a new application of a cell factory for novel chemical production, wastewater treatment, and carbon capture and utilization. However, microbial electrosynthesis is still subject to several problems that need to be overcome for commercialization, so continuous development such as metabolic engineering is essential. The development of microbial electrosynthesis can open up new opportunities for sustainable biocommodities production platforms. This review provides significant information on the current state of MES development, focusing on extracellularly electron transfer and metabolic engineering.

A Novel 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose Dehydrogenase Produced by a Newly Isolated Raoultella ornithinolytica B6-JMP12

Despite an increasing potential of red algal biomass as a feedstock, biological conversion of red algal biomass has been limited by lack of feasible microorganisms which can convert structured AHG, which is a main component of red algal carbohydrate, into a common metabolite. In the AHG uptake pathway, AHG dehydrogenase (AHGD) is known to be a key step, therefore it is important to find an efficient dehydrogenase to break down 3,6- anhydro-L-galactose (AHG) for practical use of red macroalgae biomass in biorefineries requires. In this study, we isolate a novel AHG dehydrogenase (AHGD) with high activity produced by a newly isolated bacteria strain, Raoultella ornithinolytica B6–JMP12. The stability and compatibility of the enzyme were evaluated under various conditions to achieve high enzyme production. The AHGD was partially purified using conventional protein purification techniques such as ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion exchange followed by gel filtration chromatography, 37.24 fold with a final specific activity of 5.47 U/mg of protein with 32% yield recovery. SDS-PAGE was used to determine the molecular weight of the partially purified AHGD and its molecular weight was found to be around ~34 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature for the partially purified AHGD were 7.0 and 35°C, respectively. The Km and Vmax for 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose are 0.63 mg/mL and 0.38 μM/mL/min, respectively.