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Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most important renewable materials to replace carbon-based fossil resources. Solvent-based fractionation is a promising route for fractionation of biomass into its major components. Processing is governed by the employed solvent-systems properties. This review sheds light on the factors governing both dissolution and potential reactivities of the chemical structures present in lignocellulose, highlighting how proper understanding of the underlying mechanisms and interactions between solute and solvent help to choose proper systems for specific fractionation needs. Structural and chemical differences between the carbohydrate-based structural polymers and lignin require very different solvents capabilities in terms of causing and eventually stabilizing conformational changes and consequent activation of bonds to be cleaved by other active components in the. A consideration of potential depolymerization events during dissolution and energetic aspects of the dissolution process considering the contribution of polymer functionalities allow for a mapping of solvent suitability for biomass fractionation., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-01-16 (sofila)

In this study, a facile synthesis method was employed to create lignin-castor oil-based oleogels by modifying organic lignin with two silane coupling agents. The resulting oleogels demonstrated outstanding lubricating and antioxidation properties, establishing them as promising green lubricating greases. Compared with the pure castor oil, the oxidation induction time (OIT) value of the synthesized oleogels was significantly increased from 20 s (pure castor oil) to 1959 s (oleogel with 20 wt % lignin), indicating an effective improvement of the oxidation resistance. The steel contacts lubricated by the synthesized oleogel also had lower wear than those lubricated by pure castor oil, signifying the better lubricating properties of oleogels. The oleogel with 20 wt % lignin showed the lowest wear, which was around 64% lower than that of pure castor oil. The exceptional performance and environmentally sustainable composition of these oleogels, with the biomass content exceeding 80%, allow them to be used as green lubricating greases for industrial applications. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the development of high-performance, eco-friendly lubricants., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-09-06 (joosat);CC BY 4.0 License

Banana production generates significant amounts of agricultural wastes, being fiber extraction one of the most relevant alternatives for their valorization. This process produces banana’s pseudostem pulp (BPP) as a byproduct, which shows an interesting composition for the biorefinery’s biochemical platform, with high polysaccharides (68%) and low lignin contents. This work deals with the enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) of raw and hydrothermally pre-treated BPP, focusing on the production of oligosaccharides (OS). Raw BPP hydrolysis with cellulase at different dosages rendered only 3.2% OS yields (OSY). Pectinase addition has not affected EH performance. On the other hand, EH of hydrothermally pre-treated BPP at 150 °C and 170 °C (P150 and P170) allowed to increase OSY up to 28% (P150, 1 FPU of cellulase/g dry biomass, 12 h), being 72% of the solubilized sugars in the form of cello-oligosaccharides. This last condition was subjected to a multi-stage EH strategy without improvements in OSY. An endo-glucanase was also tested, but obtained OSY were lower than cellulase results. Finally, obtained OS demonstrated to stimulate the growth of two Lactobacilli strains. The results show that BPP pre-treated under mild operational conditions is a good candidate for cello-oligosaccharides production by EH using 1 FPU/g DB of cellulase with a simple strategy., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-08-16 (marisr);Funder:Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain (FPU15/03138), LIFE BAQUA project (LIFE15 ENV/ES/000157),ERASMUS + Programme.License fulltext: CC-BY. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Godkänd;2023;Nivå 0;2023-04-21 (hanlid), Green and sustainable approach to valorise high saline and oily fish processing effluents for the production of nu-traceuticals (INVENTION; 2020-01028)

Halophytes have major potential in biorefinery as these salt tolerant crops have prospects as an alternative biomass to meet energy demands and provide value-added products with reduced effects in terms of food security and environmental damage when compared to other crops. In this study, we investigated the effects of organosolv pretreatment process parameters on the fractionation of residual fibers from pressed Salicornia ramosissima and how it affects the fractions of cellulose, lignin, and hemicelluloses. Pretreated pulps contained as high as 48.95% w/w cellulose, a 2.9-fold increase from the untreated fibers. The delignification of pulp was as high as 75.01% and hemicellulose removal reached 96.38%. The hemicellulose fractions contained as high as 78.49% oligomers and we identified up to 30.4% linear xylooligosaccharides in the composition. The majority of the fragments of hemicelluloses had molecular weights lower than 1000 Da. Isolated lignin samples had in most cases very low sugar and ash contamination with a reduced molecular weight. The typical G-, S-, and H-type aromatic units were detected in the lignin, together with & beta;-O-4 & PRIME;, & beta;-5 & PRIME;, & beta;-& beta;& PRIME;, and dibenzodioxocine links. The results suggest a novel applicability of S. ramosissima in a biorefinery context with fractionation deriving building blocks for value added products., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-08-16 (joosat);Licens fulltext: CC BY License

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an environmentally friendly process for recovering low-carbon energy from the breakdown of organic substrates. In recent years, AD has undergone a major paradigm shift, and now the technology is not only considered as a “waste treatment” method and is instead viewed as a key enabler of the future “circular economy” with its potential for resource recovery (low-carbon energy, safe water, and nutrients). Currently, waste-derived biogas from AD is the most affordable and scalable source of renewable energy. Biomethane (upgraded biogas) can serve as a significant renewable and dispatchable energy source for combating the problem of global warming. Acidogenesis, an intermediate step of AD, can produce molecular hydrogen (H2) along with green chemicals/platform chemicals. The use of low-carbon hydrogen as a clean energy source is on the rise throughout the world, and is currently considered a potential alternative energy source that can contribute to the transition to a carbon-neutral future. In order to determine the future trade routes for hydrogen, nations are developing hydrogen policies, and various agreements. Hydrogen produced by biological routes has been found to be suitable due to its potential as a green energy source that is carbon neutral for the developing “Hydrogen Economy”. Recently, hydrogen blended with methane to a specific proportion and known as biohythane/hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) has emerged as a promising clean fuel that can substantially contribute to an integrated net-zero energy system. This review provides an overview of the current state of fermentative hydrogen and methane production from biogenic waste/wastewater in a biorefinery approach and its utilization in the context of energy transition. The limitations and economic viability of the process, which are crucial challenges associated with biohydrogen/biomethane production, are discussed, along with its utilization., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-05-10 (hanlid)

BackgroundGrowing evidence points to a link between specific fatty acids ingested through the diet and human health. Chain length, saturation degree, and position of double bonds in fatty acids determine their effect in humans. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids have been recognized for their contribution to the prevention and/or treatment of diabetes, cancer, visual impairment, cardiovascular diseases, as well as neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. Scope and approachHumans cannot synthesize these fatty acids in sufficient amounts and need to absorb them through the diet. Oleaginous microalgae constitute a promising, sustainable source of such fatty acids, as they can accumulate up to 85% of lipids on a cell dry weight basis. Key findings and conclusionsThe present review summarizes the potential of oleaginous microalgae as a convenient, economical, and sustainable source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and explores their beneficial role in human health. The growing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and changing dietary preferences are driving the increasing demand for microbial omega-3 fatty acids. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of a healthy immune system has further strengthened the market for omega-3 fatty acids., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-05-12 (hanlid);Funder: Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) (1137), Green and sustainable approach to valorise high saline and oily fish processing effluents for production of nutraceuticals, Boosting the squalene content in thraustochytrids by genetic engineering using CRISPR–Cas9 System to replace shark-based squalene as an adjuvant for COVID 2019 vaccine

The urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions has motivated the development of CO2 capture and utilization technologies. An emerging application is CO2 transformation into storage chemicals for clean energy carriers. Formic acid (FA), a valuable product of CO2 reduction, is an excellent hydrogen carrier. CO2 conversion to FA, followed by H2 release from FA, are conventionally chemically catalyzed. Biocatalysts offer a highly specific and less energy-intensive alternative. CO2 conversion to formate is catalyzed by formate dehydrogenase (FDH), which usually requires a cofactor to function. Several FDHs have been incorporated in bioelectrochemical systems where formate is produced by the biocathode and the cofactor is electrochemically regenerated. H2 production from formate is also catalyzed by several microorganisms possessing either formate hydrogenlyase or hydrogen-dependent CO2 reductase complexes. Combination of these two processes can lead to a CO2-recycling cycle for H2 production, storage, and release with potentially lower environmental impact than conventional methods., Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-11-09 (hanlid);Funder: Centre for Hydrogen Energy Systems Sweden CH2ESS, Luleå University of TechnologyFull text license: CC BY