Lijing Huang, Penghui Li, Kangjie Jiang, Wenjuan Wu^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.4, pp. 1613-1626, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.023605

Abstract The effect of lignin structural units on enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass was investigated, especially the inhibitory role of lignin in non-productive adsorption with enzymes. Milled wood lignin (MWL) was isolated from different hardwoods of poplar, eucalyptus and acacia. The isolated lignin samples were characterized by elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography, nitrobenzene oxidation and fourier infrared spectroscopy. The mechanism of lignin structural units on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was studied by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The results showed that different structural units of lignin had different adsorption capacity for enzymes. The results of nitrobenzene oxidation indicated that the S/G ratio… More > Graphic Abstract

Ling Pan¹ , Yubo Tao^2,*, Peng Li^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.6, pp. 1099-1109, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.014683

Abstract As a kind of biopolymer, hydrolysates of fish swim bladder, safer than those of land mammals, are widely used in food, cosmetics as well as pharmaceutical and biomedical fields for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and weak antigenicity. To enhance hydrolysate production, in this paper, the papain and alcalase hydrolysis processes of larimichthys polyactis swim bladder were optimized with orthogonal experiments. With 89.5% hydrolysate yield, the optimal processing conditions for alcalase were solid-liquid ratio of 1:30, enzyme concentration of 0.7%, and extraction time of 6 h. As for papain, under the optimal processing conditions: solid-liquid ratio of 1:20, enzyme concentration of 0.5%,… More >

Feiyu Li¹, Siqi Zuo¹, Yongzhou Chi¹, Chunying Du¹, Zhaopeng Shen¹, Xihong Han^2,3, Xiaohui Wang^2,*, Peng Wang^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.11, pp. 1519-1529, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.011453

Abstract Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses that affect plant growth and reduce agricultural productivity. Use of algal extract as a biostimulant is gaining increased attention from researchers. This study aimed to investigate the potential of Ulva prolifera extract (UE) as a biostimulant when enzymatically extracted under conditions of water deficit. UE treatments (0.02%, 0.06%, and 0.1%) significantly improved the shoot length, root length, and dry weight of roots after 120 h of drought stress relative to that in treatment with the negative control. An increase in catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activity was also observed that resulted in… More >

Matea Perić^1,*, Robert Putz¹, Christian Paulik²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.7, pp. 759-772, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09284

Abstract In the current study poly(lactic acid) PLA composites with a 3 wt% and 5 wt% of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) were produced by 3D-printing method. An enzymatic pretreatment coupled with mechanical fibrillation in a twin screw extruder was used to produce high consistency NFC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with Fibermetric software, FASEP fiber length distribution analysis, Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile tests, impact tests and differential scanning calorimetry were used to characterize NFC and PLA/NFC composites. The results of the fiber length and width measurements together with the results of the SEM analysis showed that enzymatic… More >

Hui Qiao¹, Jingzhao Cui¹, Shuiping Ouyang¹, Jinjie Shi², Jia Ouyang^1,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1197-1207, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07735

Abstract As an important agricultural waste, corn cob is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, dilute acid pretreatment using seven different organic acids were compared for compositional analysis of corn cob. The first pKa of organic acids, influenced by the number and type of the side group and distance between two carboxylic groups, played a crucial role in the pretreatment effect. Citric acid was found to have better pretreatment performance than other tested dicarboxylic acids. Under the condition of 30 mM, 160°C and 60 min, the level of xylose reached 22.64 g/L in pretreatment liquid, and the… More >

Cristiane S. Farinas*, José Manoel Marconcini, Luiz Henrique C. Mattoso

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 203-216, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.6341578

Abstract The conversion of sugarcane lignocellulosic biomass into fuels, chemicals and high-value materials using the biochemical pathway is considered the most sustainable alternative for the implementation of future biorefineries. Actually, the first large-scale cellulosic ethanol plants that have started operating worldwide apply the enzymatic hydrolysis process to convert biomass into simple sugars that are fermented to ethanol by yeasts. However, several technological challenges still need to be addressed in order to obtain commercially competitive products. This review describes current challenges and perspectives regarding the enzymatic hydrolysis step for processing sugarcane lignocellulosic biomass within the biorefinery. Recent developments in terms of process… More >

Reynaldo Palacios-Bereche¹, Adriano Ensinas², Marcelo Modesto¹, Silvia Nebra^1,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 183-194, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634175

Abstract The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of increasing ethanol production by introducing the bagasse hydrolysis process into conventional distilleries. Simulations were performed for mass and energy balances using Aspen Plus® software. It was assumed that sugarcane trash and lignin cake—hydrolysis process residues—are available as supplementary fuel. Several cases were evaluated, including: (a) conventional ethanol distillery, (b) conventional plant combined with a hydrolysis process without heat integration, with different solid contents in the hydrolysis reactor, and (c) conventional plant combined with the hydrolysis process applying heat integration by pinch analysis. The highest ethanol yield was achieved in… More >

Kênia F. R. Lamounier¹, Patrisia O. Rodrigues¹, Daniel Pasquini^2*, Milla A. Baffi¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 169-175, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634151

Abstract This study investigates the efficiency of a crude enzymatic extract produced by Aspergillus fumigatus SCBM6 by solid state fermentation (SSF) in the hydrolysis of alkali pretreated sugarcane bagasse (PTB). After SSF using in natura sugarcane bagasse (SCB), the enzymatic extract presented 21.33 U.g–1 of β-glucosidase and 544.46 U.g–1of xylanase. The alkaline pretreatment with sodium hydroxide (2% NaOH (w/v) removed 43% of the lignin from PTB and the cellulosic fraction increased to 75%. The hydrolysis was optimized as a function of time, temperature, and concentration of PTB. After hydrolysis, the maximum yield (30.05%) of total released reducing sugars (TRS) was obtained… More >