Suchergebnisse

Spent sulphite liquor (SSL) is the main byproduct of acid sulphite pulping. Its main components are lignosulphonates (LS) and monomeric sugars. SSL is typically intended as binder, emulsifier or additive in concretes due to its high amount of LS. Sugars can be converted into high value-added products such as xylitol, PHB or biofuels among others; by means of fermentation processes. However, a separation step to remove the compounds that can act as fermentation inhibitors, as LS, is needed. Membrane technology allows the separation of sugars and LS from the SSL because of their different size of molecular weight. In the present study, ceramic membranes with different cut-offs (15 kDa, 5 kDa and 1 kDa) were used. 15 kDa membrane offered the best results according to LS concentration in the retentate stream, 5 kDa membrane the highest LS removal in permeate stream, and 1 kDa membrane the minimum sugar losses in the permeate stream. Because of this, the combination of the three membranes in a series system was proposed. In this way, an increase in LS removal in the final permeate was achieved (72.78 %), but also an increase in the sugar losses (26.80 %). Hence, further studies will determine the optimal configuration system of this process. ; Authors would like to thank the Department of Education, Universities and Investigation of the Basque Government (Postdoctoral Development Program and project IT672-13) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTQ2013-41246-R) for financially supporting this work.

WOS: 000440243600050 ; The growing interest in substituting synthetic products coming from non-renewable sources with products from biomass has focused attention on the lignin biopolymer. Its high availability, low price and properties make the development of new and valuable uses for lignin interesting, thus improving the economic and environmental aspects of the biomass conversion. To achieve this objective, the potential use of industrial kraft and organosolv lignins as antioxidants, antimicrobials and sunscreen products has been evaluated. The results of a detailed antibacterial and antifungal study demonstrated the high potential of kraft lignins against a variety of foodborne and human pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, both organosolv and kraft lignins presented an effective protection factor (SPF values from 10-20), demonstrating their effectiveness as natural additives for the sun lotion market. In addition, lignin samples presented high antioxidant capacity compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), one common commercial antioxidant industrially used. Therefore, the development of innovative applications of lignins as a commodity for the chemical, pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries could expand their possible uses in the market giving new added values to lignin. ; University of the Basque Country [PIF 13/050]; Basque Government [IT1008-16] ; The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the University of the Basque Country (doctoral grant of Ms Gordobil Grant No. PIF 13/050) and to the Basque Government (scholarship of young researchers training and project IT1008-16).

Funding Information: R. F-M. would like to express her gratitude to the Department of Economic Development and Infrastructures of the Basque Government (scholarship of young researchers training) for supporting this research financially. E.R. wants to acknowledge the tenure track position "Biobased materials" part of E2S UPPA supported by the "Investissements d'Avenir" French program managed by ANR (ANR-16-IDEX-0002). The authors would like to acknowledge the technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU/ERDF.EU) and Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Turkey. Funding Information: R. F-M. would like to express her gratitude to the Department of Economic Development and Infrastructures of the Basque Government (scholarship of young researchers training) for supporting this research financially. E.R. wants to acknowledge the tenure track position ?Biobased materials? part of E2S UPPA supported by the ?Investissements d'Avenir? French program managed by ANR (ANR-16-IDEX-0002). The authorswould like to acknowledge the technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU/ERDF.EU) and Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Turkey. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s) ; Chitosan films lack various important physicochemical properties and need to be supplemented with reinforcing agents to bridge the gap. Herein, we have produced chitosan composite films supplemented with copolymerized (with polyacrylonitrile monomers) cellulose nanofibers and diatomite nanocomposite at different concentrations. The incorporation of CNFs and diatomite enhanced the physicochemical properties of the films. The mechanical characteristics and hydrophobicity of the films were observed to be improved after incorporating the copolymerized CNFs/diatomite composite at different concentrations (CNFs: 1%, 2% and 5%; diatomite: 10% and 30%). The antioxidant activity gradually increased with an increasing concentration (1–5% and 10–30%) of copolymerized CNFs/diatomite composite in the chitosan matrix. Moreover, the water solubility decreased from 30% for chitosan control film (CH-0) to 21.06% for films containing 30% diatomite and 5% CNFs (CNFs-D30-5). The scanning electron micrographs showed an overall uniform distribution of copolymerized CNFs/diatomite composite in the chitosan matrix with punctual agglomerations. ; Peer reviewed

Lignin-based polyols (LBPs) with controlled microstructure were obtained by cationic ring opening polymerization (CROP) of oxiranes in an organosolv lignin (OL) tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. The control on the microstructure and consequently on the properties of the LBPs such as hydroxyl number, average molecular weight, melting, crystallization and decomposition temperatures, are crucial to determine the performance and application of the derived-products. The influence of key parameters, for example, molar ratio between the oxirane and the hydroxyl groups content in OLO, initial OL concentration in THF, temperature, specific flow rate and oxirane nature has been investigated. LBPs with hydroxyl numbers from 35 to 217 mg KOH/g, apparent average Mw between 5517 and 52,900 g/mol and melting temperatures from −8.4 to 18.4 °C were obtained. The CROP procedure allows obtaining of tailor-made LBPs for specific applications in a very simple way, opening the way to introduce LBPs as a solid alternative to substitute currently used fossil-based polyols. ; Basque Government (grant KK-2019/00097)

Biomass is defined as organic matter from living organisms represented in all kingdoms. It is recognized to be an excellent source of proteins, polysaccharides and lipids and, as such, embodies a tailored feedstock for new products and processes to apply in green industries. The industrial processes focused on the valorization of terrestrial biomass are well established, but marine sources still represent an untapped resource. Oceans and seas occupy over 70% of the Earth's surface and are used intensively in worldwide economies through the fishery industry, as logistical routes, for mining ores and exploitation of fossil fuels, among others. All these activities produce waste. The other source of unused biomass derives from the beach wrack or washed-ashore organic material, especially in highly eutrophicated marine ecosystems. The development of high-added-value products from these side streams has been given priority in recent years due to the detection of a broad range of biopolymers, multiple nutrients and functional compounds that could find applications for human consumption or use in livestock/pet food, pharmaceutical and other industries. This review comprises a broad thematic approach in marine waste valorization, addressing the main achievements in marine biotechnology for advancing the circular economy, ranging from bioremediation applications for pollution treatment to energy and valorization for biomedical applications. It also includes a broad overview of the valorization of side streams in three selected case study areas: Norway, Scotland, and the Baltic Sea. ; This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA18238 (Ocean4Biotech), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). AR and KK: this research was funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding P1-0245 and P1-0237). AR: this publication has been produced with financial assistance of the Interreg MED Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Project No. 8MED20_4.1_SP_001, internal ref. 8MED20_4.1_SP_001) – B-Blue project. SG, CT, and JO: this work is financed by national funds from FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences - UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy – i4HB. JaB and WH: the preparation of the manuscript was supported by the Project CONTRA (Conversion of a Nuisance to a Resource and Asset #R090, 2018–2021) of the INTERREG Baltic Sea Region Program, and Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education from the 2019–2021 science funding allocated for the implementation of international co-financed project W24/INTERREG BSR/2019. Research of Maris Klavins, VB, and LA was supported by ERDF project 1.1.1.1/16/A/050 "Variable fuel gasification for municipal solid waste recovery." MC acknowledges the funding from CEEC program supported by FCT/MCTES (CEECIND/02968/2017) and Strategic Funding UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 supported by national funds provided by FCT and ERDF. AD acknowledges financial support provided by European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement No 857287 and Latvian Council of Science research project No. lzp-2020/1-0054. MKa: the Interreg LAT_LIT Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (LLI-525 ESMIC). LB acknowledges the funding from Erasmus + Project No. ECOBIAS 609967-EPP-1-2019-1-RS-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP; GA.2019-1991/001-001. Development of master curricula in ecological monitoring and aquatic bioassessment for Western Balkans HEIs/ECOBIAS. IS and KP acknowledge financial support provided by the projects CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_048/0007323 and CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000754 (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic). ZV-G acknowledges support within the project No.1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/029 (Formula of peat-free soil conditioner with controlled-release fertilizing effect applicable for soil remediation and quality improvement of agricultural production). IZ: the projects SLTKT20427, KIK 17431 and SARASWATI 2.0. JuB: the project No.1.1.1.2/VIAA/3/19/531 (Innovative technologies for stabilization of landfills – diminishing of environmental impact and resources potential in frames of circular economy). The work conducted by CR, LA-H, and MA was fully financed by Møreforsking AS. ; Peer reviewed