Yeong Hwan Seo

Cultivation and lipid production of yeast Cryptococcus curvatus using pretreated waste active sludge supernatant.

Oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus has become some of the most promising feedstock for biodiesel production due to their high production efficiency. However, high cost of cultivation, especially substrate cost, hinders rapid commercialization of yeast-based biodiesel. In this study, waste activated sludge (WAS), which is rich in nutrients and organic matters, was examined as an economic substitute for organic substances. To be efficiently bioavailable, WAS must be pretreated. Hydrodynamic cavitation reaction time and pH were identified as experimental factors, whereas growth rate was selected as response parameter. The experimental factors were optimized employing Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Growth rate of 1.13/h was optimized at reaction time 12.5 min and pH 8.65. When sludge pretreated under these optimal conditions was used as a substitute to yeast extract, 9.84 g/L of biomass was obtained in a day and lipid was accumulated up to 23% of dry weight.

Biodiesel production from yeast Cryptococcus sp. using Jerusalem artichoke.

Jerusalem artichoke was investigated as a cheap substrate for the heterotrophic production using a lab yeast strain Cryptococcus sp. Using Response Surface Method, 54.0% of fructose yield was achieved at 12% of dried Jerusalem artichoke powder, 0.57% of nitric acid concentration, 117°C of reaction temperature, and 49min of reaction time. At this optimal condition, nitric acid showed the best catalytic activity toward inulin hydrolysis and also the resulting fructose hydrolyte supported the highest microbial growth compared with other acids. In addition, lipid productivity of 1.73g/L/d was achieved, which is higher than a defined medium using pure fructose as a substrate. Lipid quality was also found to be generally satisfactory as a feedstock for fuel, demonstrating Jerusalem artichoke could indeed be a good and cheap option for the purpose of biodiesel production.

Enhancement of growth and lipid production from microalgae using fluorescent paint under the solar radiation.

Solar radiation has intensity that is too high to inhibit microalgae activity and is composed of wide light spectrum including ultraviolet (UV) range which cannot be utilized for microalgae. For these reasons, the modification of solar radiation is required for effective microalgae cultivation, and to do that, fluorescent paint was used for not only blocking excessive solar energy but also converting UV to visible light. With fluorescent aqueous layer, microalgae was protected from photoinhibition and could grow well, but there was difference in growth and lipid accumulation efficiencies depending on the color; maximum dry weight of 1.7 g/L was achieved in red paint, whereas best lipid content of 30% was obtained in blue one. This phenomenon was due to the different light spectrum made by colors. With simple process using fluorescent paint, modification of light was successfully done and allowing microalgae to grow under strong radiation such as solar radiation.

Ferric chloride based downstream process for microalgae based biodiesel production

In this study, ferric chloride (FeCl3) was used to integrate downstream processes (harvesting, lipid extraction, and esterification). At concentration of 200 mg/L and at pH 3, FeCl3 exhibited an expected degree of coagulation and an increase in cell density of ten times (170 mg/10 mL). An iron-mediated oxidation reaction, Fenton-like reaction, was used to extract lipid from the harvested biomass, and efficiency of 80% was obtained with 0.5% H2O2 at 90 °C. The iron compound was also employed in the esterification step, and converted free fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters under acidic conditions; thus, the fatal problem of saponification during esterification with alkaline catalysts was avoided, and esterification efficiency over 90% was obtained. This study clearly showed that FeCl3 in the harvesting process is beneficial in all downstream steps and have a potential to greatly reduce the production cost of microalgae-originated biodiesel.

Enhancing the light utilization efficiency of microalgae using organic dyes

Solar radiation is composed of wide light spectrum including the range which cannot be utilized for microalgae. To enhance the light utilization efficiency, organic dye solutions of rhodamine101 and 9,10-diphenylanthracene were used as wavelength converters. Each dye affected cell growth and lipid accumulation differently, based on the response of each to different light spectrum. Under a light intensity of 50 W/m(2), maximum cell growth (1.5 g/L) was obtained with the red organic dye rhodamine101, whereas best lipid content (30%) with the blue type 9,10-diphenylanthracene. These two separate and complementary traits could be combined by simple mixing, and in so doing optimal growth (1.5 g/L) as well as lipid accumulation (30%) was achieved: lipid productivity was 2.3 times greater than without the organic dye. This study proved that certain organic dye solutions could convert useless wavelengths to be useful for algae cultivation, thereby increasing the productivity of biomass and lipids.

Lipid extraction from microalgae cell using persulfate-based oxidation.

In this study, persulfate, a solid-type oxidant, was adopted as a substitute for hydrogen peroxide in extracting lipid from microalgae biomass. Microalgae cells were concentrated at pH 3 and with 200mg/L of ferric chloride, conditions which can activate oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide and persulfate. At a persulfate concentration of 2mM and a reaction temperature of 90°C, exceedingly high extraction efficiency over 95% was obtained, which was higher than with 0.5% hydrogen peroxide at the same temperature. This result showed that persulfate is sufficiently powerful and incomparably cheap enough to replace the potent yet expensive oxidant. It appears that combining iron-based coagulation and persulfate-based lipid extraction is indeed a competitive approach that can possibly lighten the process burden for the microalgae-derived biodiesel production.

Harvesting of microalgae cell using oxidized dye wastewater.

In this study, oxidized dye wastewaters were tested for their potential to be used as a cheap coagulant for microalgae harvesting. Two dyes (methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO)) were selected as model dyes, and the Fenton-like reaction under high temperature (90 °C, 1 min) employed as an oxidative treatment option. A maximum harvesting efficiency over 90% was obtained with both MB and MO at a dilution ratio of 5:1 (dye wastewater: cell culture), when the optimal oxidation condition was 20 mg/L of dye, 1 mM of FeCl3, and 0.5% of H2O2 concentration. This phenomenon could be explained by the possibility that amine groups are formed and exposed in oxidized dyes, which act as a kind of amine-based coagulant just like chitosan. This study clearly showed that dye wastewater, when properly oxidized, could serve as a potent coagulant for microalgae harvesting, potentially rendering the harvesting cost reduced to a substantial degree.

Persulfate based pretreatment to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of rice straw

Oxidation induced by potassium persulfate was evaluated as an economic substitute for the Fenton-like reaction for the purpose of rice straw pretreatment in terms of temperature (80-140°C), potassium persulfate concentration (5-100mM) and process time (0.5-3h), an optimal pretreatment condition was identified: 120°C for 2 h with 75mM potassium persulfate concentration and yielded 91% enzymatic digestibility using 25.2FPU/g of biomass. Crystallinity index, SEM and SEM-EDS analyses revealed that biomass was indeed disrupted and components like silica were exposed. All this suggested that this persulfate-based pretreatment method, which is distinctively advantageous in terms of effectiveness and economics, can indeed be a competitive option.

Lactulose production from cheese whey using recyclable catalyst ammonium carbonate

Ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2CO3) was used as an alkaline catalyst of lactulose production from cheese whey. Maximum yield of 29.6% was obtained at reaction time of 28.44 min, (NH4)2CO3 of 0.76% at 97°C. During reaction, (NH4)2CO3 was fully decomposed to NH3 and CO2, and these gases were recovered. To boost up NH3 recovery, various methods such as heating, aeration, and pH adjustment were applied. The optimal condition for the purpose of NH3 retrieval was temperature of up to 60°C alongside aeration. Easy separation and recovery make (NH4)2CO3 a catalyst alternative to common alkaline chemicals especially for the weak alkaline reaction.

Lipid extraction and esterification for microalgae-based biodiesel production using pyrite (FeS2)

In this study, pyrite (FeS2) was used for lipid extraction as well as esterification processes for microalgae-based biodiesel production. An iron-mediated oxidation reaction, Fenton-like reaction, produced an expected degree of lipid extraction, but pyrite was less effective than FeCl3 commercial powder. That low efficiency was improved by using oxidized pyrite, which showed an equivalent lipid extraction efficiency to FeCl3, about 90%, when 20 mM of catalyst was used. Oxidized pyrite was also employed in the esterification step, and converted free fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters under acidic conditions; thus, the fatal problem of saponification during esterification with alkaline catalysts was avoided, and esterification efficiency over 90% was obtained. This study clearly showed that pyrite could be utilized as a cheap catalyst in the lipid extraction and esterification steps for microalgae-based biodiesel production.