Switchgrass is a promising lignocellulosic biomass for fuel-ethanol production. However, pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials is necessary to improve its susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis. The objectives of this study were to examine the feasibility of microwave pretreatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of switchgrass and to determine the optimal pretreatment conditions. Switchgras...

The present investigation aims at studying the effectiveness of alkali-assisted ultrasonication on pretreatment of garden biomass (GB). Dry and powdered GB suspended in 1% NaOH was ultrasonicated for 15, 30 and 60 minutes at a frequency of 25 KHZ. The mode of action and effectiveness of alkali-assisted ultrasonication on GB was established through microscopic, scanning electron microscopic and ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate different pretreatment methods prior to oxygen delignification on extractives removal and O-delignification selectivity. Four different pretreatment methods were used including ultrasonic treatment, hot water soaking, soda addition-preheating, and applying a high-shear mechanical pretretament. Acacia mangium and mixed hardwood (MHW) kraft pulps were u...

This study investigated the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) (up to 190 MPa) on porcine pepsin (proteolytic and milk-clotting activities), and the consequences of using the processed enzyme in milk coagulation and gel formation (rheological profile, proteolysis, syneresis, and microstructure). Although the proteolytic activity (PA) was not altered immediately after the HPH process, ...

The aim of this work is to prove the suitability of a new alkaline and halotolerant bacterial laccase (SilA) produced by Streptomyces ipomoea CECT 3341 to enhance the conventional chemical bleaching process of an industrial eucalyptus kraft pulp. The laccase used for this study was a recombinant laccase obtained from cultures of E. coli BL21 (DE3) grown in LB liquid medium. The biobleaching exp...

A new laccase (EC 1.10.3.2) produced by Streptomyces cyaneus CECT 3335 in liquid media containing soya flour (20 g per liter) was purified to homogeneity. The physicochemical, catalytic, and spectral characteristics of this enzyme, as well as its suitability for biobleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulps, were assessed. The purified laccase had a molecular mass of 75 kDa and an isoelectric point of...

The black liquor (BL) obtained by straw pulping can hardly be applied to conventional alkali recovery systems because of its high concentration silicon and viscosity. Soda-oxygen synchronously deposit silica on the surface cellulose reduce content viscosity BL remarkably. In this paper, BLs wheat soda-oxygen at different end points (pH < 10, 11.5 pH 12) soda-anthraquinone (soda-AQ) were obtaine...