Synthesis, delineation and technological advancements of algae biochar for sustainable remediation of the emerging pollutants from wastewater-a review.

The use of algae for value-added product and biorefining applications is enchanting attention among researchers in recent years due to its remarkable photosynthetic ability, adaptability, and capacity to accumulate lipids and carbohydrates. Algae biomass, based on its low manufacturing costs, is relatively renewable, sustainable, environmentally friendly and economical in comparison with other species. High production rate of algae provides a unique opportunity for its conversion to biochar with excellent physicochemical properties, viz. high surface area and pore volume, high adsorption capacity, abundant functional groups over surface, etc. Despite several potential algal-biochar, a detailed study on its application for removal of emerging contaminants from wastewater is limited. Therefore, this technical review is being carried out to evaluate the specific elimination of inorganic and organic pollutants from wastewater, with a view to assessing adsorption performances of biochar obtained from various algae species. Species-specific adsorption of emerging pollutants from wastewater have been discussed in the present review. The promising methods like pyrolysis, gasification, dry and wet torrefaction for the production of algae biochar are highlighted. The strategies include chemical and structural modifications of algae biochar for the removal of toxic contaminants have also been considered in the current work. The overall aim of this review is to confer about the synthesis, technological advancements, delineation and application of algae biochar for the treatment of wastewater.

An enhanced productivity of pink oyster mushroom with improved nutritional profile, characterization and attempt for commercial exploitation.

BACKGROUND: An attempt has been made to explore the nutritional profile of pink oyster mushrooms that have been grown in various agricultural residues, including sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, coconut coir and sawdust, along with other nutrient supplements such as defatted mustard and chickpea powder, for appropriate growth and fruiting body formation in a short span of time. The spawn production was experimented with five different grain varieties. The study became interesting when the observations differed slightly from the traditional practices, with the addition of defatted mustard supplements resulting in a positive correlation with respect to reducing the fruiting time, as well as improving yield and the nutritional profile of Pleurotus djamor. RESULTS: An elevated yield of 651.93 g kg-1 was recorded in the medium where the RS and DM were used in the ratio of 1:0.01 (rice straw +1% w/w defatted mustard) bag, whereas, in terms of protein content, a maximum yield of 32.57 ± 0.79 mg g-1 was observed when SB:DM was in the same ratio (sugarcane bagasse +1% w/w defatted mustard) bag. CONCLUSION: To confer the best outcomes from the screened substrates, a series of experiments were performed by varying the concentration of RS and SB, with 1% w/w DM. It is worth noting that the highest protein content of 32.76 ± 0.38 mg g-1 was obtained along with the total yield of 702.56 ± 2.9 g kg-1 of mushroom when the ratio of RS:SB was 0.7:0.3. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

NADES assisted integrated biorefinery concept for pectin recovery from kinnow (Citrus reticulate) peel and strategic conversion of residual biomass to L(+) lactic acid.

The present study aims to establish an integrated strategy for valorization of kinnow peel waste. A total of ten natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) were exploited for extraction of pectin. The highest yield of pectin enriched material was reported 35.66 % w/dw using choline chloride-Maltose based NADES. The extraction process parameters and chemical composition of NADES influenced the yield and different associated physico-chemical attributes of the pectin enriched material. All the recovered pectin enriched materials found to be composed of low methoxy pectin (degree of methylation: 18.41-40.26 %) and galacturonic acid (GalA) content was in range of 67.56-78.22 %. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to categorise isolated pectin enriched materials based on similarities and differences. The liquid fraction upon pectin extraction presented a considerable amount of fermentable sugar which was further utilized for lactic acid production by microbial intervention. The microbial strain Lactobacillus amylophilus GV6 was exploited for lactic acid fermentation where the highest yield reached 55.59 g/L. A sustainable and straight-forward biorefinery concept was developed for extraction of pectin enriched material and lactic acid production from kinnow peel waste with potential application in food and biotechnological sectors.

Processing of semolina, a wonder resource for resistant starch production: In vitro digestibility and biochemical evaluation.

With the advent of modern technology, the utilization of residues obtained after food processing are being largely explored for commercialization. Semolina, a starch rich food ingredient is one of such byproducts of food processing that has not been yet vividly studied, although it is profusely used as an important ingredient in Indian cuisines. Rapid digestibility of most starch rich foods boosts up the blood glucose level. Thus, the present study put forward an attempt to curtail the rapid digestibility of starch rich semolina flour by increasing its resistant starch content through enzymatic process. The enzymatically modified semolina flour (MS) was compared with its native counterpart (NS) on grounds of their digestibility pattern, biochemical and functional properties. A rise in resistant starch content by 9.3 ± 1.6 %, amylose content by 10.9 ± 1.2 %, crystallinity by 10.4 % and the drop in readily digestible starch by 11.9 ± 1.4 % and oil absorption by 2.1 ± 0.3 g/g were observed in MS. These initial findings of the present study are interesting as the results showed elevated potential of the modified semolina flour to be used as functional ingredient in cuisines worldwide.

Increase of resistant starch content by hydrolysis of potato amylopectin and its microstructural studies by 2D and 3D imaging.

The effect of amylopullulanase treatment on recrystallization behaviour and the formation of resistant starch crystals have been investigated. Extracted potato starch (Solanum tuberosum) has been subjected to the enzymatic assisted bioprocessing without any physical or chemical treatment, where 120 min of incubation, 7 % (v/v) of enzyme and 8 mL/g of water content were found to be optimum to increase the resistant starch content by 41.88 %. The resistant starch crystals showed the characteristic behaviour of B-type allomorph with an increase in 21.32 % crystallinity. The modified crystals portrayed less reduction in actual weight when assessed by thermo-gravimetric analysis. The compact linear arrangement of the linear amylose chains within the crystallized granule of starch has been evidenced by Bright Field Microscopy. The microstructure of the resistant starch crystals showed 33.18 % reduction in porosity when the 3-dimensional structural form was analysed by X-ray micro-Computed Tomography.

Current advances in bio-fabricated quantum dots emphasising the study of mechanisms to diversify their catalytic and biomedical applications.

Quantum dots (QDs), owing to their single atom-like electronic structure due to quantum confinement, are often referred to as artificial atoms. This unique physical property results in the diverse functions exhibited by QDs. A wide array of applications have been achieved by the surface functionalization of QDs, resulting in exceptional optical, antimicrobial, catalytic, cytotoxic and enzyme inhibition properties. Ordinarily, traditionally prepared QDs are subjected to post synthesis functionalization via a variety of methods, such as ligand exchange or covalent and non-covalent conjugation. Nevertheless, solvent toxicity, combined with the high temperature and pressure conditions during the preparation of QDs and the low product yield due to multiple steps in the functionalization, limit their overall use. This has driven scientists to investigate the development of greener, environmental friendly and cost-effective methods that can circumvent the complexity and strenuousness associated with traditional processes of bio-functionalization. In this review, a detailed analysis of the methods to bio-prepare pre-functionalized QDs, with elucidated mechanisms, and their application in the areas of catalysis and biomedical applications has been conducted. The environmental and health and safety aspects of the bio-derived QDs have been briefly discussed to unveil the future of nano-commercialization.

Global metabolome profiling of exhaled breath condensates in male smokers with asthma COPD overlap and prediction of the disease.

Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap, termed as ACO, is a complex heterogeneous disease characterised by persistent airflow limitation, which manifests features of both asthma and COPD. These patients have a worse prognosis, in terms of more frequent and severe exacerbations, more frequent symptoms, worse quality of life, increased comorbidities and a faster lung function decline. In absence of clear diagnostic or therapeutic guidelines, ACO presents as a challenge to clinicians. The present study aims to investigate whether ACO patients have a distinct exhaled breath condensate (EBC) metabolic profile in comparison to asthma and COPD. A total of 132 age and BMI matched male smokers were recruited in the exploratory phase which consisted of (i) controls = 33 (ii) asthma = 34 (iii) COPD = 30 and (iv) ACO = 35. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics, 8 metabolites (fatty acid, propionate, isopropanol, lactate, acetone, valine, methanol and formate) were identified to be significantly dysregulated in ACO subjects when compared to both, asthma and COPD. The expression of these dysregulated metabolites were further validated in a fresh patient cohort consisting of (i) asthma = 32 (ii) COPD = 32 and (iii) ACO = 40, which exhibited a similar expression pattern. Multivariate receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves generated using these metabolites provided a robust ACO classification model. The findings were also integrated with previously identified serum metabolites and inflammatory markers to develop a robust predictive model for differentiation of ACO. Our findings suggest that NMR metabolomics of EBC holds potential as a platform to identify robust, non-invasive biomarkers for differentiating ACO from asthma and COPD.

A study of microbially fabricated bio-conjugated quantum dots for pico-molar sensing of H2O2 and glucose.

Quantum dots (QDs) as bio-detectors have been intensively explored owing to their size dependent optical properties and are still envisioned to be used in a plethora of biomedical and healthcare areas. However, the medical application of the biosensors demands the ultrasensitive detection of the analytes, which is usually limited for the conventional methods of colorimetric and fluorescence detection. The Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) process, exploited by QDs, translates the close association between the analyte and the detector into optical properties and thus promises the effective detection of biomolecules. FRET based detection systems for biomolecules utilize surface-functionalized QDs which are usually modified post production using different organic groups. In this work, a novel protocol was formulated to produce bio-functionalized QDs with controlled chemical and optical characteristics. Here, we demonstrate the first-ever biological green synthesis of MoS2 QDs using Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bio-functionalized QDs show green luminescence with a quantum yield of 42%, supporting their application as an optical sensor. These QDs are utilized to detect the pico-molar concentration of glucose, which makes them ideal for early diabetes detection and many biomedical applications. Also, the ability to sense pico-molar levels of H2O2 opens the path for its utilization in apprehending the plant signaling pathways under stress conditions.

Metabolomic fingerprinting and systemic inflammatory profiling of asthma COPD overlap (ACO).

BACKGROUND: Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) refers to a group of poorly studied and characterised patients reporting with disease presentations of both asthma and COPD, thereby making both diagnosis and treatment challenging for the clinicians. They exhibit a higher burden in terms of both mortality and morbidity in comparison to patients with only asthma or COPD. The pathophysiology of the disease and its existence as a unique disease entity remains unclear. The present study aims to determine whether ACO has a distinct metabolic and immunological mediator profile in comparison to asthma and COPD. METHODS: Global metabolomic profiling using two different groups of patients [discovery (D) and validation (V)] were conducted. Serum samples obtained from moderate and severe asthma [n = 34(D); n = 32(V)], moderate and severe COPD [n = 30(D); 32(V)], ACO patients [n = 35(D); 40(V)] and healthy controls [n = 33(D)] were characterized using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Multiplexed analysis of 25 immunological markers (IFN-γ (interferon gamma), TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor alpha), IL-12p70 (interleukin 12p70), IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-10, IL-1α, IL-1ß, TGF-ß (transforming growth factor), IL-6, IL-17E, IL-21, IL-23, eotaxin, GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor), IFN-α (interferon alpha), IL-18, NGAL (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin), periostin, TSLP (thymic stromal lymphopoietin), MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein- 1), YKL-40 (chitinase 3 like 1) and IL-8) was also performed in the discovery cohort. RESULTS: Eleven metabolites [serine, threonine, ethanolamine, glucose, cholesterol, 2-palmitoylglycerol, stearic acid, lactic acid, linoleic acid, D-mannose and succinic acid] were found to be significantly altered in ACO as compared with asthma and COPD. The levels and expression trends were successfully validated in a fresh cohort of subjects. Thirteen immunological mediators including TNFα, IL-1ß, IL-17E, GM-CSF, IL-18, NGAL, IL-5, IL-10, MCP-1, YKL-40, IFN-γ, IL-6 and TGF-ß showed distinct expression patterns in ACO. These markers and metabolites exhibited significant correlation with each other and also with lung function parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The energy metabolites, cholesterol and fatty acids correlated significantly with the immunological mediators, suggesting existence of a possible link between the inflammatory status of these patients and impaired metabolism. The present findings could be possibly extended to better define the ACO diagnostic criteria, management and tailoring therapies exclusively for the disease.

Enzyme mediated resistant starch production from Indian Fox Nut (Euryale ferox) and studies on digestibility and functional properties.

Starch rich foods are almost indispensable in mundane diet of people round the globe. Rapid digestibility of starch culminates into elevated blood glucose level which is an evident factor for many diseases. To curb this rapid digestibility and the elevated glycemic response, resistant starch content in highly nutritious but unexplored popped makhana (Euryale ferox) was increased by amylopullulanase treatment. In the present study, amylopullulanase treated makhana flour (MM) was compared with the native makhana flour (NM) based on physicochemical and functional properties, where enhanced amylose content, resistant starch and crystallinity were recorded to be 12.33 %, 14.88 % and 11.32 % respectively, whereas, readily digestible starch and oil holding capacity decreased by 13.01 % and 3.12 g/g respectively. The present study ensures the reduction and sustainable release of glucose during in vitro digestibility analysis. These findings point out the elevated potential of amylopullulanase treated makhana flour for therapeutic food formulation.

Continuous cultivation strategy for yeast industrial wastewater-based polyhydroxyalkanoate production.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) present an eco-friendly alternative for conventional plastics. Industrial wastewater from the food industry is a copious source of organic carbon that can be recovered in the form of PHA. However, the wastewater composition varies considerably among the different industries demanding for an industry-specific investigation of the PHA production process. Wastewater from the yeast industry, besides its high concentration in organic carbon, also contains a high ammonium concentration which might decrease the PHA production. Thus, this study aims to investigate PHA production using yeast industry wastewater via an enriched mixed microbial culture (MMC). A less explored cultivation strategy, i.e., continuous cultivation for PHA production was evaluated and compared to the widely used batch cultivation. PHA accumulating MMC was enriched using a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated under aerobic dynamic feeding. An MMC dominated by the Thauera species was successfully enriched in the SBR. Experimental results showed that ammonium is indeed required for PHA accumulation and the complete absence of ammonium negatively affects the accumulation process. Using wastewater, batch and continuous feeding strategies, respectively, yielded the PHA accumulation of 72 % and 65 % per dry cell weight. Despite the slightly lower PHA accumulation with continuous cultivation, four times more biomass growth was produced. Consequently, higher theoretical PHA production (270 t/year) can be expected using continuous cultivation in half of the reactor volume (45 m3). Therefore, this study asserts the viability of continuous cultivation as a feasible investigatory tool and PHA production strategy.

Laccase mediated delignification of pineapple leaf waste: an ecofriendly sustainable attempt towards valorization.

BACKGROUND: Escalating energy security, burgeoning population and rising costs of fossil fuels have focussed our attention on tapping renewable energy sources. As the utilization of food crops for biofuel production culminates into food vs. fuel dilemma, there is an intensive need for alternatives. Production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass owing to its profuse availability and high holocellulose content is a promising area for research. RESULTS: In the present study, pineapple leaf, an agro-industrial waste was pretreated with laccase to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of the substrate for improved production of reducing sugar. Variables determining enzymatic delignification of pineapple leaf waste have been optimized by response surface methodology based on central composite design. Maximum delignification of 78.57%(w/w) resulted in reducing sugar of 492.33 ± 3.1 mg/g in 5.30 h. The structural changes in pineapple leaf waste, after laccase treatment, were studied through Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. Specific surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter of the substrate were studied using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda methods and found a significant increase in the aforementioned parameters after delignification. CONCLUSION: Laccase mediated delignification of pineapple leaf waste is a cleaner sustainable process for enhanced production of reducing sugar which can accomplish the demand for biofuels.

Metabolomic signatures of asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) are different from asthma and COPD.

INTRODUCTION: Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap, termed as ACO, is a complex heterogeneous disease without any clear diagnostic or therapeutic guidelines. The pathophysiology of the disease, its characteristic features, and existence as a unique disease entity remains unclear. Individuals with ACO have a faster lung function decline, more frequent exacerbations, and worse quality of life than those with COPD or asthma alone. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to determine whether ACO has a distinct metabolic profile in comparison to asthma and COPD. METHODS: Two different groups of patients were recruited as discovery (D) and validation (V) cohorts. Serum samples obtained from moderate and severe asthma patients diagnosed as per GINA guidelines [n = 34(D); n = 32(V)], moderate and severe COPD cases identified by GOLD guidelines [n = 30(D); 32(V)], ACO patients diagnosed by joint GOLD and GINA guidelines [n = 35(D); 40(V)] and healthy controls [n = 33(D)] were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry. RESULTS: Multivariate and univariate analysis indicated that 12 metabolites [lipid, isoleucine, N-acetylglycoproteins (NAG), valine, glutamate, citric acid, glucose, L-leucine, lysine, asparagine, phenylalanine and histidine] were dysregulated in ACO patients when compared with both asthma and COPD. These metabolites were further validated in a fresh cohort of patients, which again exhibited a similar expression pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that ACO has an enhanced energy and metabolic burden associated with it as compared to asthma and COPD. It is anticipated that our results will stimulate researchers to further explore ACO and unravel the pathophysiological complexities associated with the disease.

In silico optimization of enzyme mediated debittering of Assam lemon: biochemical and sensory evaluation studies.

Commercialization of citrus fruit juice is always hindered by the bitterness development in juice when stored for a significant period of time. In order to debitter citrus juice, an attempt has been taken up by treating the juice with tannase. Central Composite Design (CCD) based Response Surface Methodology (RSM) has been implemented to evaluate and optimize the effect of underlying process parameters viz., enzyme volume, temperature, incubation time and enzyme titre on debittering effect of Assam lemon juice. The significance of parameters and their interaction were assessed by analysis of variance at 95% level of confidence. Optimization study reveals that the maximum debittering (40.12 ± 0.02%) of Assam lemon juice takes place at ambient temperature (37 °C) within an incubation time of 2 h and 1.12% (v/v) enzyme volume while 30 IU/ml enzyme activity. Moreover, percentage contribution of the underlying process parameters demonstrate that the enzyme volume and enzyme titre as first and second most significant contributors in process of debittering. As part of validating the above results, experimental debittering has been performed and compared with predicted debittering percentage which showed a high coefficient value (0.971) which ensures the effectiveness of the proposed model. Biochemical analysis of the treated juice reveals improved antioxidant property after enzymatic treatment by 15.30%. Total sugar and reducing sugar content has also been enhanced by 1.38 and 1.49 folds, respectively, after enzymatic treatment of juice. Furthermore, no alteration in the elemental composition of the treated juice ensure that the quality of the final juice is retained with the enzyme applications. Sensory analysis based on nine-point Hedonic scale advocates the best organoleptic property in 1% (v/v) enzyme treated juice.

Comparative study of polyhydroxyalkanoates production from acidified and anaerobically treated brewery wastewater using enriched mixed microbial culture.

The production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from wastewaters using microbial mixed cultures (MMC) has been attracting increased interest because of PHA's biodegradability characteristics. Production of PHA by an MMC enriched with PHA-accumulating bacteria was compared using anaerobically treated and acidified brewery wastewaters under various feeding strategies, namely pulse and batch feed addition. To obtain an enriched MMC, a sequencing batch reactor was inoculated with activated sludge fed with acetate and subjected to aerobic dynamic feeding. The enriched MMC was able to accumulate PHA up to 72.6% of cell dry weight (CDW) with pulse addition of acetate controlled by the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the reactor. In a batch accumulation experiment with acetate, the PHA content achieved (28.5% CDW) was less than that of the pulse feeding strategy with the same amount of acetate (~2000 mg C/L). Using anaerobically treated and acidified brewery wastewater fed in pulses, the maximum PHA accumulated by the enriched MMC was similar for both wastewaters (45% CDW), in spite of the higher volatile fatty acid concentration in acidified brewery wastewater. The pulse feed addition controlled by the DO concentration was difficult to implement for wastewater as compared to acetate because the difference in DO concentration between substrate availability and depletion was low. For the batch addition of acidified wastewater, a slightly lower PHA content (39% CDW) was obtained. These results show that both brewery wastewaters can be utilized for PHA production with a similar maximum PHA storage capacity.

Enhanced lipid extraction from oleaginous yeast biomass using ultrasound assisted extraction: A greener and scalable process.

Soaring demand for alternative fuels has been gaining wide interest due to depletion of conventional fuel, increasing petroleum prices and greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel, an alternative fuel, derived from oleaginous microbes has been promising because of short incubation time and easy to scale up. Oleaginous yeast Trichosporon sp. is capable of utilizing glycerol and agro-residues for enhanced lipid synthesis. Lipid extraction from Trichosporon sp. biomass showed highest lipid content with ultrasonic assisted extraction (43 ±â€¯0.33%, w/w) coupled with process parameters than the conventional Soxhlet (30 ±â€¯0.28%, w/w) and Binary solvent [choloroform:methanol, (2:1, v/v)] methods (36 ±â€¯0.38%, w/w), respectively. The standardized process parameters of ultrasonic assisted extraction coupled with chloroform/methanol solvent system resulted 95-97% of conversion efficiency in 20 min at 30 °C with a frequency of 50 Hz and 2800 W power, respectively. Enzymatic transesterification of yeast biomass lipid obtained 85% of fatty acid methyl esters that are predominant with oleic acid methyl ester followed by palmitic and stearic acid methyl esters, respectively. These results substantiate that the ultrasonic assisted extraction is a potential green extraction technique that had reduced time, energy and solvent consumption without compromising on lipid quality. Deploying this green extraction technique could make the biodiesel production process inexpensive and eco-friendly.

A green and sustainable approach on statistical optimization of laccase mediated delignification of sugarcane tops for enhanced saccharification.

Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass is a promising approach towards finding an alternative for transportation fuels that is driven by the prerequisite to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels, increase energy security and mitigate greenhouse gas emission. Recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass is a major hindrance in bioethanol production. Hence, an efficient pretreatment method is necessary for degradation of lignin and providing accessibility of holocellulose for hydrolysis. In an attempt to overcome this bottleneck, laccase mediated delignification of sugarcane tops was studied using central composite design (CCD) based on response surface methodology (RSM). The effect of different process parameters such as temperature, pH, solid loading, enzyme titre and incubation time were evaluated. It was observed that under optimum conditions of pH 7, solid loading of 21% (w/v), enzyme titre of 430.3 IU/mL, temperature of 40 °C and incubation of 6 h, maximum delignification of 79.1% was achieved. Compositional analysis, energy density measurement and water retention capacity of the biomass was also conducted along with GC-MS analysis for identification of low molecular compounds formed during delignification. Structural characterization of the biomass before and after pretreatment process were analysed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD) that further substantiated the delignification of sugarcane tops.

Partially consolidated bioprocessing of mixed lignocellulosic feedstocks for ethanol production.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization have accelerated the energy demand which cannot be met by decreasing fossil fuels thereby substantiate the need for lignocellulosic ethanol. The present study is one such attempt towards bioethanol production in an eco-friendly manner using enzymes in which a mixture of lignocellulosic biomass namely, Ricinus communis, Saccharum officinarum (tops) and Saccharum spontaneum were taken as a substrate. The mixed biomass was processed through partially consolidated bioprocessing (PCBP) approach which involves a non-isothermal simultaneous pretreatment and saccharification step where a concoction of laccase (Pleurotus djamor) and holocellulase (Trichoderma reseei RUT C30) was used followed by co-fermentation within the same reactor. The process parameters influencing PCBP were optimized using feed-forward ANN model which resulted in a maximum ethanol concentration of 7.86% (v/v) (62.01g/L) at pentose to hexose strain ratio of 0.696 (v/v), substrate loading of 27.54% (w/v) and incubation time of 21.96h.

Enhanced biodiesel production through phyco-myco co-cultivation of Chlorella minutissima and Aspergillus awamori: An integrated approach.

Algae-fungus co-culture was investigated as an alternative biodiesel feedstock. An oleaginous filamentous fungus Aspergillus awamori was co-cultured with Chlorella minutissima MCC 27 and Chlorella minutissima UTEX 2219, respectively in N11 medium furnished with different carbon and nitrogen sources. The biomass and lipid production potential of the two C. minutissima-A. awamori co-cultures was compared against the monocultures. A substantial enhancement in biomass and lipid accumulation was observed in both the co-cultures. When supplemented with different carbon and nitrogen sources, glycerol and potassium nitrate were found to be the most effective. In the presence of glycerol, a 2.6-3.9-fold increase of biomass and 3.4-5.1-fold increase of total lipid yields were observed in the co-cultures as compared to the axenic monocultures. Furthermore, C16:0 (31.26-35.02%) and C18:1 (21.14-24.21%) fatty acids were the major composites of the co-culture oils, which suggest co-culture as a promising strategy for biodiesel production.

Green solvents and technologies for oil extraction from oilseeds.

Oilseeds are crucial for the nutritional security of the global population. The conventional technology used for oil extraction from oilseeds is by solvent extraction. In solvent extraction, n-hexane is used as a solvent for its attributes such as simple recovery, non-polar nature, low latent heat of vaporization (330 kJ/kg) and high selectivity to solvents. However, usage of hexane as a solvent has lead to several repercussions such as air pollution, toxicity and harmfulness that prompted to look for alternative options. To circumvent the problem, green solvents could be a promising approach to replace solvent extraction. In this review, green solvents and technology like aqueous assisted enzyme extraction are better solution for oil extraction from oilseeds. Enzyme mediated extraction is eco-friendly, can obtain higher yields, cost-effective and aids in obtaining co-products without any damage. Enzyme technology has great potential for oil extraction in oilseed industry. Similarly, green solvents such as terpenes and ionic liquids have tremendous solvent properties that enable to extract the oil in eco-friendly manner. These green solvents and technologies are considered green owing to the attributes of energy reduction, eco-friendliness, non-toxicity and non-harmfulness. Hence, the review is mainly focussed on the prospects and challenges of green solvents and technology as the best option to replace the conventional methods without compromising the quality of the extracted products.