Developing fibrillated cellulose as a sustainable technological material

FEV-2021 Cellulose from plant biomass can be isolated as fibrils of nanometric diameter, generating building blocks for the development of a new family of renewable technological materials. This work discusses future research directions and highlights key questions for the development of fibrillated cellulose as a platform of novel sustainable biomaterials.

Two distinct catalytic pathways for GH43 xylanolytic enzymes unveiled by X-ray and QM/MM simulations

JAN-2021 Glycosidases are enzymes involved in lignocellulose breakdown and are central for agro-industrial residues valorization and industrial biotechnology. To enable these enzymes to convert a substrate into the product, several conformational changes occur (catalytic itinerary). This work shows a glycosidase that operates via two distinct catalytic itineraries, breaking the paradigm of the existence of only one possible route for the substrate conversion. The discovery opens new horizons on the molecular functioning of these enzymes and immediately impacts the development of novel biocatalysts.

Identifying suitable areas for expanding sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil under conservation of environmentally relevant habitats

DEC-2020 It is not enough to be renewable, it is necessary to be sustainable. This study showed that Brazil has about 20 million hectares to produce sugarcane or other biomass, intensifying the environmental advantages arising not only from the replacement of fossils, but also the rational use of natural resources, going beyond the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Areas were mapped for expansion considering the preservation of native vegetation, biodiversity and food production.

An integrated approach to obtain xylo-oligosaccharides from sugarcane straw: From lab to pilot scale

OCT-2020 The use of crop residues to obtain products with high added value is an important aspect of sustainable development. This work brings new perspectives to value sugarcane straw to bioproducts other than for the production of heat and bioelectricity. It shows the potential of sugarcane straw to produce xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), a prebiotic substance, and the use of xylanase enzymes to hydrolyze XOS. The study covered the laboratory and pilot-scale (LNBR Pilot Plant) of production.

A rationally identified marine GH1 Beta-glucosidase has distinguishing functional features for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

AUG-2020 New solutions to produce biofuels from sugarcane residues can come from unexpected environments, such as the marine. This work demonstrated the potential use of a marine enzyme β-glucosidase (GH1), rationally identified, in the production of cellulosic ethanol with simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. With activity in celo-oligosaccharides and efficiency in milder temperatures, this enzyme can be used in industrial biotechnological processes that involve the deconstruction of lignocellulosic material.

Enzymes knuckle down to the job

JUN-2020 Discovery of new enzymes for health, nutrition, biofuels, and other industrial biotechnological applications. Inspired by the molecular biodiversity of microorganisms this work has deepened the knowledge about new enzymatic strategies for the polysaccharides β-1,3-glucans processing, discovering a new mechanism of polysaccharide recognition and new mode of enzymatic action.

Technoeconomic and life-cycle analysis of single-step catalytic conversion of wet ethanol into fungible fuel blendstocks

JUN-2020 Sustainable biofuels are important for decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation, shipping and heavy-duty road transportation. The low cost of ethanol and large production capacity make it attractive to be converted into a hydrocarbon fuel, which is typically done in three steps. This work goes further and describes an economic and environmental analysis of a renewable aviation fuel obtained from a single-step catalytic process using ethanol from biomass as raw material, reducing the need for external hydrogen.

Rational engineering of the Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 strain into an industrially relevant platform for cellulase production

MAY-2020 Sustainable biofuels are important for decarbonization of light-vehicle road transportation. Synthetic biology was used to develop a microbial platform for cellulase production to reduce the cost of cellulosic ethanol production. This work describes a Brazilian technology validated at industrial operating conditions, which employs rational design of a public domain strain for cellulosic on-site manufacture of enzymes for ethanol production from sugarcane residues.

Engineering aspects of hydrothermal pretreatment: From batch to continuous operation, scale-up and pilot reactor under biorefinery concept

MAR-2020 Sustainable biofuels are important for decarbonization of light-vehicle road transportation. Hydrothermal pre-treatment is considered one of the most promising technologies for cellulosic ethanol production. This review provides comprehensive information on hydrothermal pretreatment, including performance at semi-industrial scale (LNBR pilot plant) and discusses integrated process design.

Improvement of homologous GH10 xylanase production by deletion of genes with predicted function in the Aspergillus nidulans secretion pathway

MAR-2020 Filamentous fungi are important microbial platforms for biotechnological applications. One challenge is to achieve high protein production titers. In this work, the large-scale transcriptional analysis was used to identify genes involved in protein secretion pathways. Genetic modifications of these target genes resulted in strains with improved protein production, demonstrating it is an interesting strategy for the development of industrially relevant strains.

Functional genomic analysis of bacterial lignin degraders: diversity in mechanisms of lignin oxidation and metabolism

FEB-2020 The valorization of biomass whole constituents is important for the development of new bioproducts and for decarbonization of the economy. In this work, genomic analyzes were used to identify several mechanisms employed by bacteria for the metabolism of lignin. These bacterial pathways may inspire the development of biotechnological applications to convert lignin into value-added products.

Comparison of Biofuel Life Cycle Analysis Tools

DEC-2019 Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool to assess the environmental impacts of a product. LCA model differences challenge credibility of individual evaluations applied to greenhouse gas mitigation targets. This work, in partnership with the International Energy Agency, compares greenhouse gas emissions for cellulosic ethanol production using internationally accepted LCA models from Brazil, Canada, USA and the EU. It provides recommendations to promote transparency and harmonization of LCA models.