Densification of biomass can address handling, transportation, and storage problems and also lend itself to an automated loading and unloading of transport vehicles and storage systems. The purpose of this study is to compare the physicochemical properties of briquettes made from different feedstocks. Feedstocks such as corn stover, switchgrass, prairie cord grass, sawdust, pigeon pea grass, and cotton stalk were densified using a briquetting system. Physical characterization includes particle size distribution, geometrical mean diameter (GMD), densities (bulk and true), porosity, and glass transition temperature. The compositional analysis of control and briquettes was also performed. Statistical analyses confirmed the existence of significant differences in these physical properties and chemical composition of control and briquettes. Correlation analysis confirms the contribution of lignin to bulk density and durability. Among the feedstocks tested, cotton stalk had the highest bulk density of 964&#x2009;kg/m3 which is an elevenfold increase compared to control cotton stalk. Corn stover and pigeon pea grass had the highest (96.6&#x25;) and lowest (61&#x25;) durability.

C. Karunanithy

Y. Wang

K. Muthukumarappan

S. Pugalendhi

Physiochemical Characterization of Briquettes Made from Different Feedstocks

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y5 (CGMCC no. 2660) and Issatchenkia orientalis Y4 (CGMCC no. 2159) were combined individually with Pichia stipitis CBS6054 to establish the cocultures of Y5 + CBS6054 and Y4 + CBS6054. The coculture Y5 + CBS6054 effectively metabolized furfural and HMF and converted xylose and glucose mixture to ethanol with ethanol concentration of 16.6&#x2009;g/L and ethanol yield of 0.46&#x2009;g ethanol/g sugar, corresponding to 91.2&#x25; of the maximal theoretical value in synthetic medium. Accordingly, the nondetoxified dilute-acid hydrolysate was used to produce ethanol by co-culture Y5 + CBS6054. The co-culture consumed glucose along with furfural and HMF completely in 12&#x2009;h, and all xylose within 96&#x2009;h, resulting in a final ethanol concentration of 27.4&#x2009;g/L and ethanol yield of 0.43&#x2009;g ethanol/g sugar, corresponding to 85.1&#x25; of the maximal theoretical value. The results indicated that the co-culture of Y5 + CBS6054 was a satisfying combination for ethanol production from non-detoxified dilute-acid lignocellulosic hydrolysates. This co-culture showed a promising prospect for industrial application.

Ping Wan

Dongmei Zhai

Zhen Wang

Xiushan Yang

Shen Tian

Ethanol Production from Nondetoxified Dilute-Acid Lignocellulosic Hydrolysate by Cocultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y5 and Pichia stipitis CBS6054

Soil and surface water contamination by used lubricating oil is a common occurrence in most developing countries. This has been shown to have harmful effects on the environment and human beings at large. Bioremediation can be an alternative green technology for remediation of such hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. Bioremediation of soil contaminated with 5&#x25; and 15&#x25; (w/w) used lubricating oil and amended with 10&#x25; brewery spent grain (BSG), banana skin (BS), and spent mushroom compost (SMC) was studied for a period of 84 days, under laboratory condition. At the end of 84 days, the highest percentage of oil biodegradation (92&#x25;) was recorded in soil contaminated with 5&#x25; used lubricating oil and amended with BSG, while only 55&#x25; of oil biodegradation was recorded in soil contaminated with 15&#x25; used lubricating oil and amended with BSG. Results of first-order kinetic model to determine the rate of biodegradation of used lubricating oil revealed that soil amended with BSG recorded the highest rate of oil biodegradation (0.4361 day&#x2212;1) in 5&#x25; oil pollution, while BS amended soil recorded the highest rate of oil biodegradation (0.0556 day&#x2212;1) in 15&#x25; oil pollution. The results of this study demonstrated the potential of BSG as a good substrate for enhanced remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil at low pollution concentration.

O. P. Abioye

P. Agamuthu

A. R. Abdul Aziz

Biodegradation of Used Motor Oil in Soil Using Organic Waste Amendments

The aim of present study was to investigate myostatin gene polymorphism and its association with yearling weight records in Zel sheep using PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP methods. Blood samples were collected from 200 Zel sheep, randomly, and DNA was extracted using modified salting out method. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify 337, 222, and 311 bp fragments, respectively, comprising a part of exon 3, intron 1, and intron 2 of myostatin gene. In addition, exon 3 was digested by HaeIII enzyme under RFLP method, and introns 1 and 2 were studied using SSCP. Under RFLP method, all samples showed mm genotype. Under SSCP method, intron 1 was also monomorph but intron 2 was polymorph (AA, AB, and BB). The allelic frequencies for A and B were 75.5 and 24.5%, respectively. This locus was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (<svg style="vertical-align:-0.1638pt;width:58.712502px;" id="M1" height="11.375" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 58.712502 11.375" width="58.712502" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,.062,11.113)"><path id="x1D443" d="M619 482q0 -69 -40.5 -119t-96 -72.5t-118.5 -26.5h-44l-70 20l-31 -151q-14 -67 0.5 -83t89.5 -22l-5 -28h-287l8 28q65 7 81.5 22t29.5 83l79 398q12 56 0.5 70.5t-78.5 20.5l7 28h255q108 0 164 -43t56 -125zM524 478q0 141 -146 141q-25 0 -47 -8q-16 -6 -20.5 -13.5&#xD;&#xA;t-10.5 -39.5l-43 -241q37 -13 83 -13q67 0 125.5 45t58.5 129z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,15.582,11.113)"><path id="x3C" d="M512 -3l-437 233v51l437 233v-58l-378 -200v-2l378 -199v-58z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,30.286,11.113)"><path id="x30" d="M241 635q53 0 94 -28.5t63.5 -76t33.5 -102.5t11 -116q0 -58 -11 -112.5t-34 -103.5t-63.5 -78.5t-94.5 -29.5t-95 28t-64.5 75t-34.5 102.5t-11 118.5q0 58 11.5 112.5t34.5 103t64.5 78t95.5 29.5zM238 602q-32 0 -55.5 -25t-35.5 -68t-17.5 -91t-5.5 -105&#xD;&#xA;q0 -76 10 -138.5t37 -107.5t69 -45q32 0 55.5 25t35.5 68.5t17.5 91.5t5.5 105t-5.5 105.5t-18 92t-36 68t-56.5 24.5z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,38.446,11.113)"><path id="x2E" d="M113 -12q-24 0 -39.5 16t-15.5 42q0 24 16 40.5t40 16.5t40 -16.5t16 -40.5q0 -26 -16 -42t-41 -16z" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,42.321,11.113)"><use xlink:href="#x30" /></g><g transform="matrix(.017,0,0,-.017,50.481,11.113)"><path id="x35" d="M153 550l-26 -186q79 31 111 31q90 0 141.5 -51t51.5 -119q0 -93 -89 -166q-85 -69 -173 -71q-32 0 -61.5 11.5t-41.5 23.5q-18 17 -17 34q2 16 22 33q14 9 26 -1q61 -50 124 -50q60 0 93 43.5t33 104.5q0 69 -41.5 110t-121.5 41q-53 0 -102 -20l38 305h286l6 -8&#xD;&#xA;l-26 -65h-233z" /></g></svg>), and there was no significant effect of myostatin gene on yearling weights.

Elena Dehnavi

Mojtaba Ahani Azari

Saeed Hasani

Mohammad Reza Nassiry

Mokhtar Mohajer

Alireza Khan Ahmadi

Leila Shahmohamadi

Soheil Yousefi

Polymorphism of Myostatin Gene in Intron 1 and 2 and Exon 3, and Their Associations with Yearling Weight, Using PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP Techniques in Zel Sheep

Nutritional requirements can contribute considerably to the production cost and the bioprocess economics. Media optimisation using response surface methodology is one of the used methods to ameliorate the bioprocess economics. In the present study, biosurfactant production by Bacillus subtilis SPB1 was effectively enhanced by response surface methodology. A Plackett-Burman-based statistical screening procedure was adopted to determine the most important factor affecting lipopeptide production. Eleven variables are screened and results show that glucose, K2HPO4, and urea concentrations influence the most biosurfactant production. A Central Composite Design was conducted to optimize the three selected factors. Statistical analyses of the data of model fitting were done by using NemrodW. Results show a maximum predicted biosurfactant concentration of 2.93 (±0.32) g/L when using 15 g/L glucose, 6 g/L urea, and 1 g/L K2HPO4. The predicted value is approximately 1.65 much higher than the original production determined by the conventional one-factor-at-a-time optimization method.

Ines Mnif

Semia Chaabouni-Ellouze

Dhouha Ghribi

Optimization of the Nutritional Parameters for Enhanced Production of B. subtilis SPB1 Biosurfactant in Submerged Culture Using Response Surface Methodology

The environment is a very important component necessary for the existence of both man and other biotic organisms. The degree of sustainability of the physical environment is an index of the survival and well-being of the entire components in it. Additionally, it is not sufficient to try disposing toxic/deleterious substances with any known method. The best method of sustaining the environment is such that returns back all the components (wastes) in a recyclable way so that the waste becomes useful and helps the biotic and abiotic relationship to maintain an aesthetic and healthy equilibrium that characterizes an ideal environment. In this study, the method investigated includes biological method of environmental sustainability which seeks to investigate the various biotechnological tools (biotools) in current use and those undergoing investigations for future use.

Chukwuma S. Ezeonu

Richard Tagbo

Ephraim N. Anike

Obinna A. Oje

Ikechukwu N. E. Onwurah

Biotechnological Tools for Environmental Sustainability: Prospects and Challenges for Environments in Nigeria—A Standard Review

Methylobacterium strains were isolated from mangrove samples collected in Bertioga, SP, Brazil, from locations either contaminated or uncontaminated by oil spills. The tolerances of the strains to different heavy metals were assessed by exposing them to different concentrations of cadmium, lead, and arsenic (0.1 mM, 0.5 mM, 1 mM, 2 mM, 4 mM, and 8 mM). Additionally, the genetic diversity of Methylobacterium spp. was determined by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA genes. The isolates from the contaminated locations were grouped, suggesting that oil can select for microorganisms that tolerate oil components and can change the methylotrophic bacterial community. Cadmium is the most toxic heavy metal assessed in this work, followed by arsenic and lead, and two isolates of Methylobacterium were found to be tolerant to all three metals. These isolates have the potential to bioremediate mangrove environments contaminated by oil spills by immobilizing the heavy metals present in the oil.

Manuella Nobrega Dourado

Anderson Ferreira

Welington Luiz Araújo

João Lúcio Azevedo

Paulo Teixeira Lacava

The Diversity of Endophytic Methylotrophic Bacteria in an Oil-Contaminated and an Oil-Free Mangrove Ecosystem and Their Tolerance to Heavy Metals

There is increasing interest in natural food colorants like carotenoids and anthocyanins with functional properties. Red sorghum bran is known as a rich source for anthocyanins. The anthocyanin contents extracted from red sorghum bran were evaluated by biochemical analysis. Among the three solvent system used, the acidified methanol extract showed a highest anthocyanin content (4.7&#x2009;mg/g of sorghum bran) followed by methanol (1.95&#x2009;mg/g) and acetone (1&#x2009;mg/g). Similarly, the highest total flavonoids (143&#x2009;mg/g) and total phenolic contents (0.93&#x2009;mg/g) were obtained in acidified methanol extracts than methanol and acetone extracts. To study the health benefits of anthocyanin from red sorghum bran, the total antioxidant activity was evaluated by biochemical and molecular methods. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in acidified methanol extracts of anthocyanin in dose-dependent manner. The antioxidant activity of the red sorghum bran was directly related to the total anthocyanin found in red sorghum bran.

P. Suganya Devi

M. Saravana Kumar

S. Mohan Das

DNA Damage Protecting Activity and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Anthocyanins from Red Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Bran

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Biotechnology Research International - Table of contents 2012

Biotechnology Research International | Hindawi

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