In the last 40 years, several scientific and technological advances in microbiology of the fermentation have greatly contributed to evolution of the ethanol industry in Brazil. These contributions have increased our view and comprehension about fermentations in the first and, more recently, second-generation ethanol. Nowadays, new technologies are available to produce ethanol from sugarcane, co...

The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing problem and a public health issue. In recent decades, various genetic mechanisms involved in the spread of resistance genes among bacteria have been identified. Integrons - genetic elements that acquire, exchange, and express genes embedded within gene cassettes (GC) - are one of these mechanisms. Integrons are widely distributed, especia...

During the early part of March, 1956, it was noticed in one of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's alcohol distilleries that, under the microscope, the cells of the yeast culture in use (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were not as uniform in appearance as the cells of that strain had been in the past. The particular culture on which this observation was made was a reserve culture of the yeast which...

Energy production and use has long been a major policy concern in Iowa. The 1990 Comprehensive Energy Plan for Iowa established two statewide goals around which current energy policy is structured: • To meet all future demand for energy by increasing efficiency rather than supply • To increase the use of alternative energy resources from 2% of Iowa's total energy consumption to 5% by the year 2...

Distillery spentwash contains high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), color, total dissolved solids (TDS) and other contaminants even after biological treatment. The effluent can’t be discharged as such in the surface water bodies or land without further treatment. Reverse osmosis (RO) treatment plants have been installed in many of the distilleries at tertiary level ...

BACKGROUND Sugarcane distilleries use molasses for ethanol production and generate large volume of effluent containing high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) along with melanoidin pigment. Melanoidin is a recalcitrant compound that causes several toxic effects on living system, therefore, may be treated before disposal. The aim of this study was to isolate a potent...

In this study, aerobic digestion of tannery industry wastewater was carried out using mixed culture obtained from common effluent treatment plant treating tannery wastewater. The effect of pH, temperature, inoculum concentration, agitation speed and initial substrate concentration on the reduction of organic matters were found. The optimum conditions for COD reduction was found to be pH 7 (60%)...