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The design and development of greener processes that are safe and friendly is an irreversible trend that is driven by sustainable and economic issues. The use of Biocatalysis as part of a manufacturing process fits well in this trend as enzymes are themselves biodegradable, require mild conditions to work and are highly specific and well suited to carry out complex reactions in a simple way. The growth of computational capabilities in the last decades has allowed Biocatalysis to develop sophisticated tools to understand better enzymatic phenomena and to have the power to control not only process conditions but also the enzyme’s own nature. Nowadays, Biocatalysis is behind some important products in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and bulk chemicals industry. In this review we want to present some of the most representative examples of industrial chemicals produced in vitro through enzymatic catalysis.

Despite the promise conservation paleobiology holds for using geohistorical data and insights to solve conservation problems, training in the field typically does not equip students to be competent environmental problem solvers. The intention of this perspective piece is to start a conversation about how we might train conservation paleobiology students better, focusing on the competencies needed to promote deep engagement with “wicked” conservation problems that are difficult to solve. Ongoing conversations regarding design of academic programs in sustainability, a field allied with conservation science, can inform our discussion. The sustainability literature has defined an interrelated set of “core competencies” that go beyond general academic competencies to enable real-world sustainability problem solving: systems thinking, temporal thinking, normative thinking, strategic thinking, and interpersonal competence. Conservation paleobiology is usually taught within geology programs, where students are exposed to systems thinking and temporal thinking. However, the remaining competencies typically are absent or insufficiently developed. To infuse these competencies into conservation paleobiology curricula, we recommend: (1) enhancing connections with sustainability programs and encouraging a more cross-disciplinary approach to training; (2) developing a “menu” of concepts and methodologies for each competence from which to choose; and (3) recognizing that different skills are appropriate at different levels of education and experience. The proposed competency-based framework serves as a shared reference that can be used to develop pedagogies to better prepare conservation paleobiology students to navigate the wicked conservation challenges of our time.

Abstract Performance of the ABE fermentation and integrated product recovery by cyclic vacuum was investigated in a 14-l bioreactor containing initial glucose concentration of 60 g l−1 at 35 °C. The cyclic operation consisted of 2 h-vacuum-cycles separated by 4 h-fermentation intervals at atmospheric pressure. Application of periodic vacuum sufficed to eliminate butanol inhibition of Clostridium beijerinckii 8052 culture, which tolerated alternate vacuum and atmospheric pressures. A 39% reduction in the energy requirement for acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) fermentation and in situ recovery by vacuum was achieved by changing the mode of vacuum operation from continuous (24 h vacuum time) to cyclic (12 h vacuum time). Analysis of the overall energy consumption for ABE fermentation and recovery (vacuum fermentation + distillation) demonstrated that cyclic vacuum ABE fermentation is more energy efficient than the conventional batch fermentation.

Lipase‐catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides and alcohols to obtain biodiesel is an environmentally friendly and sustainable route for fuels production since, besides proceeding in mild reaction conditions, it allows for the use of low‐cost feedstocks that contain water and free fatty acids, for example non‐edible oils and waste oils. This review article reports recent advances in the field and focus in particular on a major issue in the enzymatic process, the inactivation of most lipases caused by methanol, the preferred acyl acceptor used for alcoholysis. The recent results about immobilization of enzymes on nano‐materials and the use of whole‐cell biocatalysts, as well as the use of cell‐surface display technologies and metabolic engineering strategies for microbial production of biodiesel are described. It is discussed also insight into the effects of methanol on lipases obtained by modeling approaches and report on studies aimed at mining novel alcohol stable enzymes or at improving robustness in existing ones by protein engineering.

Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) such as caproic, heptanoic, and caprylic acids are monocarboxylic acids, which can be used as precursor molecules to synthesize biodiesel, bioplastics, antimicrobials, and corrosion inhibitors.

Biotechnology can greatly improve the efficiency of forest tree breeding for the production of biomass, energy, and materials. However, EU regulations impede the market introduction of genetically modified (GM) trees so their socioeconomic and environmental benefits are not realized. European policy makers should concentrate on a science-based regulatory process.

Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) and energycane (Saccharum spp. interspecific hybrid) are perennial C4 grasses with potential for use as bioenergy feedstocks. Their biomass production has been quantified, but differences in plant morphology and the relationship of morphology with biomass harvested and plant persistence are not well understood. The objective was to quantify monthly changes in morphological characteristics of elephantgrass (cv. Merkeron and breeding line UF1) and energycane (cv. L 79-1002) and relate these changes to biomass accumulation and plant responses to defoliation. All were evaluated monthly during full-season growth or when defoliated once in mid-season. Merkeron and UF1 elephantgrass generally showed similar morphological characteristics. Relative to energycane, elephantgrass had fewer tillers early in the growing season, less seasonal variation in tiller number, greater tiller mass and maximum leaf area index (LAI), and earlier spring development of LAI. Energycane showed slower leaf area development in spring, lower maximum LAI, and shorter period of increasing tiller mass and canopy height during the growing season relative to UF1. Elephantgrass had greater incidence of lodging than energycane when exposed to high wind, likely due to greater elephantgrass tiller mass. Morphological characteristics of tall-growing bioenergy grasses help to explain differences among them in biomass production and plant persistence responses to defoliation.

The aqueous extraction of orange peel waste (OPW), the byproduct of the juice extraction process generated annually in massive amounts (21 Mton), yields a carbohydrate-rich liquid fraction, termed orange peel extract (OPE). Several studies highlight that the combination of glycerol, a biodiesel byproduct, with carbohydrate mixtures might boost microbial lipid production. This study performed first a shaken flask screening of 15 oleaginous yeast strains based on their growth and lipid-producing abilities on OPE- and glycerol-based media. This screening enabled the selection of R. toruloides NRRL 1091 for the assessment of the process transfer in a stirred tank reactor (STR). This assessment relied, in particular, on either single- and double-stage feeding fed-batch (SSF-FB and DSF-FB, respectively) processes where OPE served as the primary medium and nitrogen-containing glycerol-OPE mixtures as the feeding one. The continuous supply mode at low dilution rates (0.02 and 0.01 h-1 for SSF-FB and DSF-FB, respectively) starting from the end of the exponential growth of the initial batch phase enabled the temporal extension of biomass and lipid production. The SSF-FB and DSF-FB processes attained high biomass and lipid volumetric productions (LVP) and ensured significant lipid accumulation on a dry cell basis (YL/X). The SSF-FB process led to LVP of 20.6 g L-1 after 104 h with volumetric productivity (r L) of 0.20 g L-1 h-1 and YL/X of 0.80; the DSF-FB process yielded LVP, r L and YL/X values equal to 15.92 g L-1, 0.11 g L-1 h-1 and 0.65, respectively. The fatty acid profiles of lipids from both fed-batch processes were not significantly different and resembled that of Jatropha oil, a vastly used feedstock for biodiesel production. These results suggest that OPE constitutes an excellent basis for the fed-batch production of R. toruloides lipids, and this process might afford a further option in OPW-based biorefinery.