Oxana P. Taran

New methods for the one-pot processing of polysaccharide components (cellulose and hemicelluloses) of lignocellulose biomass into valuable products. Part 1: Methods for biomass activation

Literature published mainly between 1995 and 2015 in the field of investigations aimed at finding promising new catalysts for the industrial processing of polysaccharide components of lignocellulose biomass, for new methods to achieve these processes, and for new ways of transforming polysaccharides into valuable chemicals and fuel is reviewed. In the first section, modern methods for activating lignocellulose biomass in order to separate main components and/or treat polysaccharide feedstock (cellulose, hemicelluloses) for further processing are considered. The second will deal with catalytic acidic transformations of these components into monosaccharides and furans. The third will focus on with the main focus on the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfurol the application of biotechnological enzymatic methods for producing valuable chemicals such as ethanol, isobutanol, lactic acid.

Sibunit-based catalytic materials for the deep oxidation of organic ecotoxicants in aqueous solution: I. Surface properties of the oxidized sibunit samples

This article presents the first systematic study of the effect of oxidation under various conditions on the surface composition and catalytic properties of a carbon material of the Sibunit family (which is promising for oxidative treatment of industrial wastewater) in deep oxidation of organic ecotoxicants in aqueous solution. Modification of the surface properties and texture of Sibunit-4 by various oxidative treatment procedures using nitric acid, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, or oxygen as the oxidant is reported. The chemical state of the surface of oxidized Sibunit and its texture have been investigated by a combination of physical and chemical methods (XPS, acid-base titration with bases differing in strength, pH slurry measurements, determination of pH at the point of zero charge, and low-temperature N2 adsorption). By using different oxidation procedures, it is possible to obtain oxidized Sibunit samples with variable concentrations and natures of oxygen-containing surface groups.

The role of environmental factors for the composition of microbial communities of saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region (Russia)

BackgroundNothing is currently known about microbial composition of saline lakes of the Novosibirsk region and its dependence on physical-chemical parameters of waters. We studied the structure of microbial communities of saline lakes of the Novosibirsk region and the effect of physical-chemical parameters of waters on microbial communities of these lakes.ResultsAccording to the ion content, the lakes were classified either as chloride or chloride-sulfate types. Water salinity ranges from 4.3 to 290xa0gxa0L−1. Many diverse microbial communities were found. Filamentous and colonial Cyanobacteria of the genera Scytonema, Aphanocapsa, and/or filamentous Algae dominated in littoral communities. Spatial and temporal organization of planktonic microbial communities and the quantities of Archaea and Bacteria were investigated using fluorescent in situ hybridization. We have found that the dominant planktonic component is represented by Archaea, or, less frequently, by Bacteria. Various phylogenetic groups (Bacteria, Archaea, Algae, and Cyanobacteria) are nonuniformly distributed. The principal component analysis was used to detect environmental factors that affect microorganism abundance. We found the principal components responsible for 71.1xa0% of the observed variation. It was demonstrated that two-block partial least squares was a better method than principal component analysis for analysis of the data. We observed general relationships between microbial abundance and water salinity.ConclusionsWe have performed the first-ever study of the structure of the microbial communities of eleven saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region along with their physical-chemical parameters of waters. Our study demonstrates that saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region contain a unique microbial communities that may become a prolific source of microorganisms for fundamental and applied studies in various fields of ecology, microbiology, geochemistry, and biotechnology, and deserve further metagenomic investigation.

Cu and Fe-containing ZSM-5 zeolites as catalysts for wet peroxide oxidation of organic contaminants: reaction kinetics

AbstractnThe peroxide oxidation of model substrates (formic acid and phenol) was studied in the presence of copper- and iron-containing catalysts (0.5xa0% Cu–ZSM-5-30 and 0.65xa0% Fe–ZSM-5-30). The aim was to develop optimal kinetic models for describing the kinetics of peroxide oxidation. The real kinetics of phenol and formic acid oxidation in the presence of these catalysts at varied reaction parameters (concentrations and temperature) was studied. The copper-containing catalysts were more active to formic acid oxidation than the iron-containing catalyst over all the temperature range studied. The rate of destruction of pollutants decreases with a decrease in the H2O2 concentration and the catalyst weight. The observed rate dependences on the initial substrate concentration appeared to be different for the substrate used. With formic acid, an increase of initial concentration leads to a slight increase in the reaction rate. In the case of phenol peroxide oxidation, the negative order with respect to the substrate concentration was observed. This may be explained by strong inhibition of the reaction rates by phenol and intermediates (hydroquinone, catechol, etc.) of its oxidation. The mathematical modeling of the kinetics was performed for various types of kinetic equations that correspond to different hypotheses on the kinetic reaction scheme. The selected kinetic models based on logical kinetic schemes allowed describing the peroxide oxidation of model substrates at an appropriate accuracy.

Sibunit-based catalytic materials for the deep oxidation of organic ecotoxicants in aqueous solutions. II: Wet peroxide oxidation over oxidized carbon catalysts

The influence of the surface chemical composition of carbon catalysts prepared by oxidative treatment on the basis of the Sibunit-4 carbon material of the Sibunit family on their catalytic properties in the liquid-phase oxidation of formic acid by hydrogen peroxide was studied for the first time. Pure carbon samples were found to be active in the destruction of hydrogen peroxide and the oxidation of an organic substrate, and their activity decreased with an increase in the number of carboxyl and lactone groups on the surface of a carbon catalyst. Nevertheless, the rates of such processes on carbon catalysts are lower than in the presence of even small amounts of homogeneous Fe3+. It was shown that carbon samples accelerate or (to the contrary) inhibit the Fe3+-catalyzed peroxide oxidation of an organic substance, depending on the quantitative ratio of surface carboxyl and lactone groups and Fe3+ ions in the reaction solution. Possible acceleration and inhibition mechanisms for peroxide oxidation on carbon catalysts are discussed. The established influence of the surface chemical properties of carbon catalysts must be taken into account in the development of catalysts and processes for the oxidative purification of industrial wastewater.

Sibunit-based catalytic materials for the deep oxidation of organic ecotoxicants in aqueous solutions. III: Wet air oxidation of phenol over oxidized carbon and Rr/C catalysts

This article presents the first systematic study concerning the effect of the oxidative treatment conditions on the surface chemical composition and the catalytic properties in the deep wet oxidation of organic ecotoxicants of a Sibunit type carbon material (S4) which was earlier identified as promising for the oxidative treatment of industrial wastewaters. The influence of the surface chemistry of the carbon materials oxidized under different conditions on the catalytic performances in the wet air oxidation of phenol of the bare carbon materials as well as the ruthenium-containing catalysts (3 wt % Ru) supported on the oxidized carbon samples was studied. The catalytic activity of the bare carbon samples appeared to be moderate and either (i) increased with the total number of carbonyl and phenolic surface groups or (ii) decreased with the total concentration of surface carboxylic and lactonic species. However, the catalytic performances of the Ru-containing catalysts were significantly higher. Based on our results, an optimum pretreatment of the carbon support could be identified to obtain the most stable and active Sibunit-supported ruthenium catalysts in the wet air oxidation of phenols.

An Integrated Study to Analyze Salt Lake Microbial Community Structure (Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia)

Salt Lake is one of the lakes in the system,consisting of a huge amount of salt and bitter-salty lakes in Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Krai.These lakes are unique and highly unstable systems where the parameters of geochemical

Oxidation of Water to Molecular Oxygen by One-Electron Oxidants on Transition Metal Hydroxides

Surveyed in this review are the most important achievements in the research and development of catalysts based on Mn, Fe, Co, and Cu hydroxides for the oxidation of water to molecular oxygen by chemical oxidizing agents obtained, for the most part, at Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. An analysis of the results of kinetic studies on water oxidation in the presence of the above-menthioned catalysts together with data obtained by quantum chemistry methods allowed us to make a conclusion on the general nature and process mechanism both in the presence of artificial catalytic systems based on metal hydroxides and the natural enzyme photosystem II of green plants. The most important properties of hydroxo compounds responsible for catalytic activity in the oxidation of water by one-electron oxidants are discussed, and a possible reaction mechanism is considered.

Delignification of corncob via combined hydrodynamic cavitation and enzymatic pretreatment: process optimization by response surface methodology

BackgroundRenewable liquid biofuel production will reduce crude oil import of India. To displace the huge quantity of fossil fuels used for energy production, this research was focused on utilization of unexploited low-cost agricultural residues for biofuel production. Corncobs are a byproduct of corn processing industry, and till now it is not utilized for biofuel production, eventhough it has high lignocellulosic concent. In this study, combined hydrodynamic cavitation and enzymatic (HCE) method was evaluated as a pretreatment method of corncob for biofuel production. The most significant process parameters namely (i) enzyme loading (3–10 Uxa0g−1), (ii) biomass loading (2.5–5.0%), and (iii) duration (5–60xa0min) were optimized and their effects on combined HCE pretreatment of corncob was studied through response surface methodology for lignin reduction, hemicellulose reduction and cellulose increase.ResultsThe highest lignin reduction (47.4%) was obtained in orifice platexa01 (OP1) under the optimized conditions namely biomass loading at 5%, enzyme loading at 6.5 Uxa0g−1 of biomass, and reaction duration of 60xa0min. The above tested independent variables had a significant effect on lignin reduction. The cavitational yield and energy consumption under the above-mentioned optimized conditions for OP1 was 3.56u2009×u200910−5xa0gxa0J−1 and 1.35xa0MJxa0kg−1, respectively.ConclusionsIt is evident from the study that HCE is an effective technology and requires less energy (1.35xa0MJxa0kg−1) than other biomass pretreatment methods.

Bioprospecting thermophilic glycosyl hydrolases, from hot springs of Himachal Pradesh, for biomass valorization

The harnessing of biocatalysts from extreme environment hot spring niche for biomass conversion is significant and promising owing to the special characteristics of extremozymes attributed by intriguing biogeochemistry and extreme conditions of these environments. Hence, in the present study 38 bacterial isolates obtained from hot springs of Manikaran (~u200995xa0°C), Kalath (~u200950xa0°C) and Vasist (~u200965xa0°C) of Himachal Pradesh were screened for glycosyl hydrolases by in situ enrichment technique using lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). Based on their hydrolytic potential 5 isolates were selected and they were Bacillus tequilensis (VCB1, VCB2 and VSDB4), and B. licheniformis (KBFB2 and KBFB3). Cellulolytic activity assayed by growth under submerged fermentation showed that B. tequilensis VCB1 had maximum FPA activity (3.38xa0IUxa0ml−1) in 48xa0h, while B. licheniformis KBFB3 excelled for endoglucanase (EGA of 4.81xa0IUxa0ml−1 in 24xa0h) and cellobiase (0.71xa0IUxa0ml−1 in 48xa0h) activities. Among all the thermophilic biocatalysts evaluated, highest exoglucanase (0.06xa0IUxa0ml−1) activity was observed in B. tequilensis VSDB4 while endoglucanase of B. licheniformis KBFB3 showed optimum specific activity at pH 7 and 70xa0°C. Further, the presence of celS, celB and xlnB genes in the isolates suggest their possible role in biomass conversion. Protein profiling by SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that cellulase isoforms migrated with molecular masses of 75xa0kDa. The endoglucanase activity of promising strain B. licheniformis KBFB3 was enhanced in the presence of Ca2+, mercaptoethanol and sodium hypochlorite whereas moderately inhibited by Cu2+, Zn2+, urea, SDS and H2O2. The results of this study indicate scope for the possible development of novel biocatalysts with multifunctional thermostable glycosyl hydrolases from hot springs for efficient hydrolysis of the complex lignocellulosic biomass into simple sugars and other derived bioproducts leading to biomass valorization.