• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.372-377
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• 2019

Leaching ($60^{\circ}C$, 5 min) and wet torrefaction ($200^{\circ}C$, 5 min) of empty fruit bunch (EFB) were carried out to improve the fuel properties; each liquid fraction was reused for leaching and wet torrefaction, respectively. In the leaching process, potassium was effectively removed because the leaching solution contained 707.5 ppm potassium. Inorganic compounds were accumulated in the leaching solution by increasing the reuse cycle of leaching solution. The major component of the leached biomass did not differ significantly from the raw material (p-value < 0.05). Inorganic compounds in the biomass were more effectively removed by sequential leaching and wet torrefaction (61.1%) than by only the leaching process (50.1%) at the beginning of the liquid fraction reuse. In the sequential leaching and wet torrefaction, the main hydrolysate component was xylose (2.36~4.17 g/L). This implied that hemicellulose was degraded during wet torrefaction. As in the leaching process, potassium was effectively removed and the concentration was accumulated by increasing the reuse cycle of wet torrefaction hydrolysates. There was no significant change in the chemical composition of wet torrefied biomass, which implied that fuel properties of biomass were constantly maintained by the reuse (four times) of the liquid fraction generated from leaching and wet torrefaction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.3
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• pp.420-427
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• 2013

This study was conducted to analyze growth characteristics and adaptability of poplar clones under the treatment of liquid pig manure. The average of survival rate was 33% better at control than the treatment under age of 5 years. But, tree height and DBH growth were higher at the treatment than control. Populus euramericana 'Eco28' showed the highest survival rate (97.9%) under the treatment. P. euramericana 'Eco28' and P. deltoides hybrid 'Dorskamp' could be selected as superior clones for height and DBH growth under the liquid pig manure treatment. The above-ground biomass production was also investigated when the poplar clones were 5 years old. The aboveground biomass under the liquid pig manure treatment was, on average. 52.6 ton/ha, which was 80% higher than control (29.1 ton/ha). P. euramericana 'Eco28' (73.6 ton/ha) and P. deltoides hybrid 'Dorskamp' (71.1 ton/ha) showed superior biomass production than other clones at the treatment of liquid pig manure. Based on survival, growth and demage traits, the adaptability of poplar clones to liquid pig manure treatment was estimated. P. deltoides hybrid 'Dorskamp' and P. euramericana 'Eco28' showed better adaptability to the treatment. P. nigra ${\times}$ P. maximowiczii '62-10' and P. koreana ${\times}$ P. nigra var. italic 'Suwon' were identified as poor adaptability clones.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.254-264
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• 2010

To obtain an efficient natural lignocellulolytic complex enzyme, we screened an efficient lignocellulose-degrading composite microbial system (XDC-2) from composted agricultural and animal wastes amended soil following a long-term directed acclimation. Not only could the XDC-2 degrade natural lignocelluloses, but it could also secrete extracellular xylanase efficiently in liquid culture under static conditions at room temperature. The XDC-2 degraded rice straw by 60.3% after fermentation for 15 days. Hemicelluloses were decomposed effectively, whereas the extracellular xylanase activity was dominant with an activity of 8.357 U/ml on day 6 of the fermentation period. The extracellular crude enzyme noticeably hydrolyzed natural lignocelluloses. The optimum temperature and pH for the xylanase activity were $40^{\circ}C$ and 6.0. However, the xylanase was activated in a wide pH range of 3.0-10.0, and retained more than 80% of its activity at $25-35^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.0-8.0 after three days of incubation in liquid culture under static conditions. PCR-DGGE analysis of successive subcultures indicated that the XDC-2 was structurally stable over long-term restricted and directed cultivation. Analysis of the 168 rRNA gene clone library showed that the XDC-2 was mainly composed of mesophilic bacteria related to the genera Clostridium, Bacteroides, Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas, etc. Our results offer a new approach to exploring efficient lignocellulolytic enzymes by constructing a high-performance composite microbial system with synergistic complex enzymes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.249-254
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• 1999

The biosorption and desorption of Cd were carried out using brown marine algae, known as the good biosorbent of heavy metals. The content of alginate bound to light metals could be changed by the physical and the chemical pretreatment of Sargassum fluitans biomass. The Cd uptake was independent of the alginate content. In case of protonated biomass, Cd uptake was the lowest because the alginic acid of biomass was dissolved to cadmium solution during the biosorption. The maximum Cd uptake of Sargassum biomass was ranged from 79 mg/g to 139 mg/g. In case of raw biomass, the higher the alginate content of biomass, the higher was the Cd uptake. 100% of Cd and light metals sorbed in the biomass were eluted at 0.1N HCI(pH 1.1). However, the elution efficiency in $CaCl_2$ and $Ca{(NO_3)}_2$solution was varied by the concentration, the solid to liquid ratio and the pH of calcium solution. The distribution coefficient between Cd and protons in the desorption solution at pH ranged from 1.6 to 2.9 was observed on the constant stoichometric coefficient(1.3).

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.152-158
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• 2011

Fast pyrolysis of biomass is one of the most promising technologies for converting biomass to liquid fuels. The pyrolysis oil, also known as the bio crude oil (BCO), have been regarded as an alternative fuel for petroleum fuels to be used in diesel engine. However, the use of BCO in diesel engine requires modifications due to low energy density, high water contents, low acidity, and high viscosity of the BCO. One of the easiest way to adopt BCO to diesel engine without modifications is the use of BCO/diesel emulsions. In this study, a diesel engine operated with diesel, bio diesel (BD), and BCO/diesel emulsion was experimentally investigated. Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled by BCO/diesel emulsion were examined. Results showed that stable engine operation was possible with emulsion and engine output power was comparable to diesel and bio diesel operation. Long term validation of adopting BCO in diesel engine is still needed because the oil is acid, with consequent problems of corrosion especially in the injection system.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1557-1565
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• 2016

Itaconic acid (IA) is a dicarboxylic acid included in the US Department of Energy's (DOE) 2004 list of the most promising chemical platforms derived from sugars. IA is produced industrially using liquid-state fermentation (LSF) by Aspergillus terreus with glucose as the carbon source. To utilize IA production in renewable resource-based biorefinery, the present study investigated the use of lignocellulosic biomass as a carbon source for LSF. We also investigated the production of fumaric acid (FA), which is also on the DOE's list. FA is a primary metabolite, whereas IA is a secondary metabolite and requires the enzyme cis-aconitate decarboxylase for its production. Two lignocellulosic biomasses (wheat bran and corn cobs) were tested for fungal fermentation. Liquid hydrolysates obtained after acid or enzymatic treatment were used in LSF. We show that each treatment resulted in different concentrations of sugars, metals, or inhibitors. Furthermore, different acid yields (IA and FA) were obtained depending on which of the four Aspergillus strains tested were employed. The maximum FA yield was obtained when A. terreus was used for LSF of corn cob hydrolysate (1.9% total glucose); whereas an IA yield of 0.14% was obtained by LSF of corn cob hydrolysates by A. oryzae.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.438-442
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• 2013

The study of bioproduct production from inexpensive biomass such as marine biomass has recently attracted considerable attention. Because, marine biomass which compared to land biomass, it can be grown rapidly and is easily cultivated without the need for expensive equipment. In addition, the carbohydrate contents are similar or higher than land biomass such as woody biomass and can be easily converted to chemicals through proper chemical processes. In the production of various biochemicals from marine biomass, levulinic acid is a highly versatile chemical with numerous industrial uses and has the potential to become a commodity chemical. It can be used as a raw material for resins, plasticizers, textiles, animal feed, coatings and antifreeze. In this study, experiments were carried out to determine the optimum conditions of temperature, acid concentration and reaction time for production of levulinic acid from marine biomass, Gelidium amansii, using two-step treatment. In the first hydrolysis step, solid-state cellulose which was used to produce ethanol by fermentation and liquid-state galactose which used to produce bioproduct such as levulinic aicd were obtained through acid soaking. In the second hydrolysis step, the liquid-state galactose was converted into levulinic acid via a high-temperature reaction in a batch reactor. As a result, the overall production yield of Gelidium amansii to levulinic acid in the two-step acid hydrolysis was approximately 20.6% on the initial biomass basis.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2012

To make synthetic liquid fuel from biomass such as wood pellet, energy crop and so on, a biomass to liquid (BTL) process by using a biomass gasifier with Fisher-Tropsch (FT) reaction was developed. However $H_2S$, COS and $CO_2$ in syngas from biomass gasifiers resulted in a decrease of the conversion efficiency and the deactivation of the catalyst. To remove acid gases in syngas, a lab-scale methanol absorption tower was developed and the removal characteristics of acid gases were investigated. The methanol absorption tower efficiently removed $H_2S$ and COS with a removal of $CO_2$, so it could be useful process for the BTL process.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.131-135
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• 2003

Callus and cell suspension cultures of Eurycoma longifolia Jack were initiated from leaves of different trees. The leaf explant of tree Eu9 produced the most calli and also induced high cell biomass in the cell suspension culture. Optimum production of cell biomass could be initiated in proliferating culture medium with a pH of 5.75 prior to autoclaving. The effects of macronutrient inorganic salts of Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium supplemented with X on production of cell biomass of Eurycoma longifolia were also investigated. The highest cell biomass was produced in MS medium containing macronutrients of $21\;mM\;NH_4NO_3,\;12.25\;mM\;KNO_3,\;3.00\;mM\;CaCl_2.2H_2O,\;0.575\;mM\;MgSO_4.7H_2O$, and $1.83\;mM\;KH_2PO_4$. A new medium labeled as TAM was formulated for the production of Eurycoma longifolia cell biomass in the cell suspension culture.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

Negative environmental consequences of fossil fuels and the concerns about their soaring prices have spurred the search for alternative energy sources. While other alternative energies-like solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and tidal-offer viable options for electricity generation, around 40% of total energy consumption requires liquid fuels like gasoline or diesel fuel. This is where bio-energy/biofuels is especially attractive, where they can serve as a practical alternative to oil. The production of liquid biofuels for transportation will depend upon a stable supply of large amount of inexpensive cellulosic biomass obtained on a sustainable basis. This paper reviewed development status of transportation bio-energy for vehicles, technical barriers to the production of cellulosic ethanol, and the global future of bio-diesel and ethanol production.