The Experts below are selected from a list of 533505 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Willy Verstraete - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the hydrogen gas bio based Economy and the production of renewable building block chemicals food and energy
New Biotechnology, 2020Co-Authors: Jo De Vrieze, Korneel Rabaey, Kristof Verbeeck, Ilje Pikaar, Jos Boere, Ad Van Wijk, Willy VerstraeteAbstract:The carrying capacity of the planet is being exceeded, and there is an urgent need to bring forward revolutionary approaches, particularly in terms of energy supply, carbon emissions and nitrogen inputs into the biosphere. Hydrogen gas, generated by means of renewable energy through water electrolysis, can be a platform molecule to drive the future bioEconomy and electrification in the 21st century. The potential to use hydrogen gas in microbial metabolic processes is highly versatile, and this opens a broad range of opportunities for novel biotechnological developments and applications. A first approach concerns the central role of hydrogen gas in the production of Bio-Based building block chemicals using the methane route, thus, bypassing the inherent low economic value of methane towards higher-value products. Second, hydrogen gas can serve as a key carbon-neutral source to produce third-generation proteins, i.e. microbial protein for food applications, whilst simultaneously enabling carbon capture and nutrient recovery, directly at their point of emission. Combining both approaches to deal with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources maximises the ability for efficient use of renewable resources.
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the contribution of microbial biotechnology to economic growth and employment creation
Microbial Biotechnology, 2017Co-Authors: Kenneth N Timmis, Willy Verstraete, Victor De Lorenzo, Juan L Ramos, Antoine Danchin, Harald Brussow, Brajesh K Singh, James Kenneth TimmisAbstract:Our communication discusses the profound impact of Bio-Based economies – in particular microbial biotechnologies – on SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. A Bio-Based Economy provides significant potential for improving labour supply, education and investment, and thereby for substantially increasing the demographic dividend. This, in turn, improves the sustainable development of economies.
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inoculum selection is crucial to ensure operational stability in anaerobic digestion
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2015Co-Authors: Jo De Vrieze, Willy Verstraete, Sylvia Gildemyn, Ramiro Vilchezvargas, Ruy Jauregui, Dietmar H Pieper, Nico BoonAbstract:Anaerobic digestion is considered a key technology for the future Bio-Based Economy. The microbial consortium carrying out the anaerobic digestion process is quite complex, and its exact role in terms of “elasticity”, i.e., the ability to rapidly adapt to changing conditions, is still unknown. In this study, the role of the initial microbial community in terms of operational stability and stress tolerance was evaluated during a 175-day experiment. Five different inocula from stable industrial anaerobic digesters were fed a mixture of waste activated sludge and glycerol. Increasing ammonium pulses were applied to evaluate stability and stress tolerance. A different response in terms of start-up and ammonium tolerance was observed among the different inocula. Methanosaetaceae were the dominant acetoclastic methanogens, yet, Methanosarcinaceae increased in abundance at elevated ammonium concentrations. A shift from a Firmicutes to a Proteobacteria dominated bacterial community was observed in failing digesters. Methane production was strongly positively correlated with Methanosaetaceae, but also with Bacteria related to Anaerolinaceae, Clostridiales, and Alphaproteobacteria. Volatile fatty acids were strongly positively correlated with Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, yet ammonium concentration only with Bacteroidetes. Overall, these results indicate the importance of inoculum selection to ensure stable operation and stress tolerance in anaerobic digestion.
Korneel Rabaey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the hydrogen gas bio based Economy and the production of renewable building block chemicals food and energy
New Biotechnology, 2020Co-Authors: Jo De Vrieze, Korneel Rabaey, Kristof Verbeeck, Ilje Pikaar, Jos Boere, Ad Van Wijk, Willy VerstraeteAbstract:The carrying capacity of the planet is being exceeded, and there is an urgent need to bring forward revolutionary approaches, particularly in terms of energy supply, carbon emissions and nitrogen inputs into the biosphere. Hydrogen gas, generated by means of renewable energy through water electrolysis, can be a platform molecule to drive the future bioEconomy and electrification in the 21st century. The potential to use hydrogen gas in microbial metabolic processes is highly versatile, and this opens a broad range of opportunities for novel biotechnological developments and applications. A first approach concerns the central role of hydrogen gas in the production of Bio-Based building block chemicals using the methane route, thus, bypassing the inherent low economic value of methane towards higher-value products. Second, hydrogen gas can serve as a key carbon-neutral source to produce third-generation proteins, i.e. microbial protein for food applications, whilst simultaneously enabling carbon capture and nutrient recovery, directly at their point of emission. Combining both approaches to deal with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources maximises the ability for efficient use of renewable resources.
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towards a carbon negative sustainable bio based Economy
Frontiers in Plant Science, 2013Co-Authors: Bartel Vanholme, Tom Desmet, Frederik Ronsse, Korneel Rabaey, Frank Van Breusegem, Marjan De Mey, Wim SoetaertAbstract:The Bio-Based Economy relies on sustainable, plant-derived resources for fuels, chemicals, materials, food and feed rather than on the evanescent usage of fossil resources. The cornerstone of this Economy is the biorefinery, in which renewable resources are intelligently converted to a plethora of products, maximizing the valorization of the feedstocks. Innovation is a prerequisite to move a fossil-based Economy toward sustainable alternatives, and the viability of the Bio-Based Economy depends on the integration between plant (green) and industrial (white) biotechnology. Green biotechnology deals with primary production through the improvement of biomass crops, while white biotechnology deals with the conversion of biomass into products and energy. Waste streams are minimized during these processes or partly converted to biogas, which can be used to power the processing pipeline. The sustainability of this Economy is guaranteed by a third technology pillar that uses thermochemical conversion to valorize waste streams and fix residual carbon as biochar in the soil, hence creating a carbon-negative cycle. These three different multidisciplinary pillars interact through the value chain of the Bio-Based Economy.
Martin Kumar Patel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Comparing biobased products from oil crops versus sugar crops with regard to non-renewable energy use, GHG emissions and land use.
Industrial Crops and Products, 2016Co-Authors: Koen P.h. Meesters, Sjaak G. Conijn, Wim J. Corré, Martin Kumar PatelAbstract:Non-renewable energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and land use of two biobased products and biofuel from oil crops is investigated and compared with products from sugar crops. In a Bio-Based Economy chemicals, materials and energy carriers will be produced from biomass. Next to side streams, also vegetable oils and sugars are expected to become important resources for these products. Application of these resources calls for effective resource use, with minimal environmental impacts. In this paper we study a number of available options and their trade-offs. Use of vegetable oils in a chemical and a resin results in a higher reduction of non- renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions than their use as biodiesel. Furthermore, similar savings in environmental impact per unit of land can be reached by products from either oil or sugar crops as transportation fuel, but the sugar crops, applied in chemicals or bioplastics outcompete the oil crops.
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succinic acid production derived from carbohydrates an energy and greenhouse gas assessment of a platform chemical toward a bio based Economy
Biofuels Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2014Co-Authors: Ioannis Tsiropoulos, A L Roes, Martin Kumar PatelAbstract:Bio-Based succinic acid has the potential to become a platform chemical, i.e. a key building block for deriving both commodity and high-value chemicals, which makes it an attractive compound in a Bio-Based Economy. A few companies and industrial consortia have begun to develop its industrial production on a large scale. A life cycle assessment of different Bio-Based succinic acid production processes, based on dextrose from corn, was performed to investigate their non-renewable energy use (NREU) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, from cradle-to-factory gate in Europe. Three processes were studied, i.e. (i) low pH yeast fermentation with downstream processing (DSP) by direct crystallization, (ii) anaerobic fermentation to succinate salt at neutral pH (pH7) and subsequent DSP by electrodialysis, and (iii) a similar process producing ammonium sulfate as co-product in DSP. These processes are compared to the production of petrochemical maleic anhydride, succinic acid, and adipic acid. Low pH yeast fermentation to succinic acid with direct crystallization was found to have significantly lower GHG emissions and NREU, compared to other fermentation routes and three petrochemical routes. However, the disparity in GHG emissions between this process and the electrodialysis process becomes less prominent if one considers a cleaner electricity mix than the current European production mix. Moreover, this study highlights that the allocation approach in corn wet milling and the succinic acid plant location strongly influence the results. Overall, the results suggest that low pH yeast fermentation with direct crystallization is the most beneficial process to Bio-Based succinic acid from an environmental perspective. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Jo De Vrieze - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the hydrogen gas bio based Economy and the production of renewable building block chemicals food and energy
New Biotechnology, 2020Co-Authors: Jo De Vrieze, Korneel Rabaey, Kristof Verbeeck, Ilje Pikaar, Jos Boere, Ad Van Wijk, Willy VerstraeteAbstract:The carrying capacity of the planet is being exceeded, and there is an urgent need to bring forward revolutionary approaches, particularly in terms of energy supply, carbon emissions and nitrogen inputs into the biosphere. Hydrogen gas, generated by means of renewable energy through water electrolysis, can be a platform molecule to drive the future bioEconomy and electrification in the 21st century. The potential to use hydrogen gas in microbial metabolic processes is highly versatile, and this opens a broad range of opportunities for novel biotechnological developments and applications. A first approach concerns the central role of hydrogen gas in the production of Bio-Based building block chemicals using the methane route, thus, bypassing the inherent low economic value of methane towards higher-value products. Second, hydrogen gas can serve as a key carbon-neutral source to produce third-generation proteins, i.e. microbial protein for food applications, whilst simultaneously enabling carbon capture and nutrient recovery, directly at their point of emission. Combining both approaches to deal with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources maximises the ability for efficient use of renewable resources.
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inoculum selection is crucial to ensure operational stability in anaerobic digestion
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2015Co-Authors: Jo De Vrieze, Willy Verstraete, Sylvia Gildemyn, Ramiro Vilchezvargas, Ruy Jauregui, Dietmar H Pieper, Nico BoonAbstract:Anaerobic digestion is considered a key technology for the future Bio-Based Economy. The microbial consortium carrying out the anaerobic digestion process is quite complex, and its exact role in terms of “elasticity”, i.e., the ability to rapidly adapt to changing conditions, is still unknown. In this study, the role of the initial microbial community in terms of operational stability and stress tolerance was evaluated during a 175-day experiment. Five different inocula from stable industrial anaerobic digesters were fed a mixture of waste activated sludge and glycerol. Increasing ammonium pulses were applied to evaluate stability and stress tolerance. A different response in terms of start-up and ammonium tolerance was observed among the different inocula. Methanosaetaceae were the dominant acetoclastic methanogens, yet, Methanosarcinaceae increased in abundance at elevated ammonium concentrations. A shift from a Firmicutes to a Proteobacteria dominated bacterial community was observed in failing digesters. Methane production was strongly positively correlated with Methanosaetaceae, but also with Bacteria related to Anaerolinaceae, Clostridiales, and Alphaproteobacteria. Volatile fatty acids were strongly positively correlated with Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, yet ammonium concentration only with Bacteroidetes. Overall, these results indicate the importance of inoculum selection to ensure stable operation and stress tolerance in anaerobic digestion.
Xiaoyang Jia - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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utilizing bio char as a bio modifier for asphalt cement a sustainable application of bio fuel by product
Fuel, 2014Co-Authors: Sheng Zhao, Baoshan Huang, Philip X Ye, Xiang Shu, Xiaoyang JiaAbstract:Abstract The recent endeavor toward a Bio-Based Economy in the U.S. leads to more attention to converting organic matters into bio-fuels. Efforts have been made to look for practical applications for bio-char, a carbonaceous by-product from converting plant matters to bio-fuels through pyrolysis. Bio-char is considered to be able to use as an asphalt binder modifier due to its carbon nature and morphology. In this study, bio-char derived from switchgrass through different types of pyrolysis were tested as bio-modifier for asphalt binder. A commercially activated carbon was utilized for comparison. All the carbonaceous additives were incorporated into one commonly used asphalt binder at different concentrations in order to obtain the optimal content. The samples were tested in the laboratory for their rheological characteristics, rutting and fatigue performance and ductility properties. Highest treatment temperature (HTT), pyrolysis method, particle size of bio-modifier and modifier content were investigated to achieve the optimal modification effect. It was found that bio-char was capable of reducing the temperature susceptibility and significantly increasing the rutting resistance of the asphalt binder. The addition of the bio-char showed little effect on the fatigue and cracking resistance, with the best fatigue and cracking resistance found on the bio-char with finer particles (−75 μm) produced at lower HTT (400 °C) and lower heating rate (15 °C/min). Based on the testing results, bio-char appears to be a more effective binder modifier than commercially activated carbon within addition of 10 wt.%.
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utilizing bio char as a bio modifier for asphalt cement a sustainable application of bio fuel by product
Fuel, 2014Co-Authors: Sheng Zhao, Baoshan Huang, Xiang Shu, Xiaoyang JiaAbstract:Abstract The recent endeavor toward a Bio-Based Economy in the U.S. leads to more attention to converting organic matters into bio-fuels. Efforts have been made to look for practical applications for bio-char, a carbonaceous by-product from converting plant matters to bio-fuels through pyrolysis. Bio-char is considered to be able to use as an asphalt binder modifier due to its carbon nature and morphology. In this study, bio-char derived from switchgrass through different types of pyrolysis were tested as bio-modifier for asphalt binder. A commercially activated carbon was utilized for comparison. All the carbonaceous additives were incorporated into one commonly used asphalt binder at different concentrations in order to obtain the optimal content. The samples were tested in the laboratory for their rheological characteristics, rutting and fatigue performance and ductility properties. Highest treatment temperature (HTT), pyrolysis method, particle size of bio-modifier and modifier content were investigated to achieve the optimal modification effect. It was found that bio-char was capable of reducing the temperature susceptibility and significantly increasing the rutting resistance of the asphalt binder. The addition of the bio-char showed little effect on the fatigue and cracking resistance, with the best fatigue and cracking resistance found on the bio-char with finer particles (−75 μm) produced at lower HTT (400 °C) and lower heating rate (15 °C/min). Based on the testing results, bio-char appears to be a more effective binder modifier than commercially activated carbon within addition of 10 wt.%.