How do nitrogen fertilization and cover crop influence soil C-N stocks and subsequent yields of sugarcane?

APR-2021 Legumes fix nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere, making them excellent options for providing N to the agricultural system and indirectly mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the demand for synthetic fertilizers. Sugarcane cultivation requires N, but there are no reports of the impacts of its cultivation on C-N stocks. This paper proved that nitrogen fertilization and crop rotation with legumes increased sugarcane yield by 12%, increased N stocks and soil microbial biomass, but did not affect soil carbon (C) stocks.

Multilocation changes in soil carbon stocks from sugarcane straw removal for bioenergy production in Brazil

APR-2021 The soil is the main carbon (C) pool of the terrestrial ecosystem and, depending on the land use, it can act as a source or drain of atmospheric CO2. The sugarcane straw is an important C input for soils and also has a high potential for bioenergy production. This study evaluated the impacts of straw removal on soil C stocks under different soil and climate conditions in Brazil. It has been confirmed that excessive straw removal decreases soil C stocks, and these impacts are more negative on sandy soils. It is concluded that the adverse impacts on the soil must be included in life cycle assessment of bioenergy produced from straw.

Electrostatic Interactions Optimization Improves Catalytic Rates and Thermotolerance on Xylanases

APR-2021 Designing enzymes with more sophisticated catalytic machineries than those found in nature streamline the generation of new enzymes and its use for diverse biotechnological applications. This work describes a novel and efficient computation-guided method capable of rationally ‘customizing’ enzymes with improved catalytic rates and thermotolerance. This new technology has potential impact on the development of industrially relevant products.

Structure of the class XI myosin globular tail reveals evolutionary hallmarks for cargo recognition in plants

APR-2021 Understanding the molecular mechanisms for the transport of cellular components is important in the production of biorenewables, as they are involved from the secretion of fungal enzyme to plant growth. This work unveils the high-resolution structure of an important protein domain that determines what type of components will be transported by the molecular motor myosin. The work also applied a new method of experimental phasing based on libraries of short fragments, which broadened the spectrum of experimental approaches to elucidate new protein structures.

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

APR-2021 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.

Untrafficked furrowed seedbed sustains soil physical quality in sugarcane mechanized fields

MAR-2021 The abundant production of biomass in Brazil suffers from the intense traffic of agricultural machinery that compact and degrade the soil structure, which reduces its productive potential. This work observed, in five years of study, that the use of seedbeds recovers the soil physical and structural quality without the need for mechanical tillage practices. The use of seedbeds system improves root growth and the biological activity of the soil and makes sugarcane production more sustainable, mainly due to the better soil physical quality.

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.

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.