Background: The members of the genus Caldicellulosiruptor have the potential for future integration into a biorefinery system due to their capacity to generate hydrogen close to the theoretical limit of 4 mol H2/mol hexose, use a wide range of sugars and can grow on numerous lignocellulose hydrolysates. However, members of this genus are unable to survive in high sugar concentrations, limiting their ability to grow on more concentrated hydrolysates, thus impeding their industrial applicability. In this study five members of this genus, C.owensensis, C. kronotskyensis, C.bescii, C.acetigenus and C.kristjanssonii, were developed to tolerate higher sugar concentrations through an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) process. The developed mixed population C.owensensis CO80 was further studied and accompanied by the development of a kinetic model based on Monod kinetics to quantitatively compare it with the parental strain. Results: Mixed populations of Caldicellulosiruptor tolerant to higher glucose concentrations were obtained with C.owensensis adapted to grow up to 80 g/L glucose; other strains in particular C. kristjanssonii demonstrated a greater restriction to adaptation. The C.owensensis CO80 mixed population was further studied and demonstrated the ability to grow in glucose concentrations up to 80 g/L glucose, but with reduced volumetric hydrogen productivities (QH2) and incomplete sugar conversion at elevated glucose concentrations. In addition, the carbon yield decreased with elevated concentrations of glucose. The ability of the mixed population C.owensensis CO80 to grow in high glucose concentrations was further described with a kinetic growth model, which revealed that the critical sugar concentration of the cells increased fourfold when cultivated at higher concentrations. When co-cultured with the adapted C.saccharolyticus G5 mixed culture at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20 h, C.owensensis constituted only 0.09–1.58% of the population in suspension. Conclusions: The adaptation of members of the Caldicellulosiruptor genus to higher sugar concentrations established that the ability to develop improved strains via ALE is species dependent, with C.owensensis adapted to grow on 80 g/L, whereas C.kristjanssonii could only be adapted to 30 g/L glucose. Although C.owensensis CO80 was adapted to a higher sugar concentration, this mixed population demonstrated reduced QH2 with elevated glucose concentrations. This would indicate that while ALE permits adaptation to elevated sugar concentrations, this approach does not result in improved fermentation performances at these higher sugar concentrations. Moreover, the observation that planktonic mixed culture of CO80 was outcompeted by an adapted C.saccharolyticus, when co-cultivated in continuous mode, indicates that the robustness of CO80 mixed culture should be improved for industrial application. © 2021, The Author(s).

The use of straw for biofuel production is encouraged by the European Union. A previous study showed the feasibility of producing biomethane in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors using hydrolyzed, steam-pretreated wheat straw, before and after dark fermentation with Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus, and lucerne. This study provides information on overall microbial community development in those UASB processes and changes related to acidification. The bacterial and archaeal community in granular samples was analyzed using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Anaerobic digestion model no. 1 (ADM1) was used to predict the abundance of microbial functional groups. The sequencing results showed decreased richness and diversity in the microbial community, and decreased relative abundance of bacteria in relation to archaea, after process acidification. Canonical correspondence analysis showed significant negative correlations between the concentration of organic acids and three phyla, and positive correlations with seven phyla. Organic loading rate and total COD fed also showed significant correlations with microbial community structure, which changed over time. ADM1 predicted a decrease in acetate degraders after a decrease to pH ≤ 6.5. Acidification had a sustained effect on the microbial community and process performance. © 2020 by the authors.

With an increasing number of low-grade primary ores starting to be cost-effectively mined, we are at the verge of mining a myriad of low-grade primary and secondary mineral materials. At the same time, mining practices and mineral waste recycling are both evolving towards sustainable near-zero-waste processing of low-grade resources within a circular economy that requires a shift in business models, policies and improvements in process technologies. This review discusses the evolution towards low-grade primary ore and secondary raw material mining that will allow for sufficient supply of critical raw materials as well as base metals. Seven low-grade ores, including primary (Greek and Polish laterites) and secondary (fayalitic slags, jarosite and goethite sludges, zinc-rich waste treatment sludge and chromium-rich neutralisation sludge) raw materials are discussed as typical examples for Europe. In order to treat diverse and complex low-grade ores efficiently, the use of a new metallurgical systems toolbox is proposed, which is populated with existing and innovative unit operations: (i) mineral processing, (ii) metal extraction, (iii) metal recovery and (iv) matrix valorisation. Several promising novel techniques are under development for these four unit-operations. From an economical and environmental point of view, such processes must be fitted into new (circular) business models, whereby impacts and costs are divided over the entire value chain. Currently, low-grade secondary raw material processing is only economic and environmentally beneficial when the mineral residues can be valorised and landfill costs are avoided and/or incentives for waste processing can be taken into account. © 2020 The Author(s)

Background

Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus is an attractive hydrogen producer suitable for growth on various lignocellulosic substrates. The aim of this study was to quantify uptake of pentose and hexose monosaccharides in an industrial substrate and to present a kinetic growth model of C. saccharolyticus that includes sugar uptake on defined and industrial media. The model is based on Monod and Hill kinetics extended with gas-to-liquid mass transfer and a cybernetic approach to describe diauxic-like growth.

Results

Mathematical expressions were developed to describe hydrogen production by C. saccharolyticus consuming glucose, xylose, and arabinose. The model parameters were calibrated against batch fermentation data. The experimental data included four different cases: glucose, xylose, sugar mixture, and wheat straw hydrolysate (WSH) fermentations. The fermentations were performed without yeast extract. The substrate uptake rate of C. saccharolyticus on single sugar-defined media was higher on glucose compared to xylose. In contrast, in the defined sugar mixture and WSH, the pentoses were consumed faster than glucose. Subsequently, the cultures entered a lag phase when all pentoses were consumed after which glucose uptake rate increased. This phenomenon suggested a diauxic-like behavior as was deduced from the successive appearance of two peaks in the hydrogen and carbon dioxide productivity. The observation could be described with a modified diauxic model including a second enzyme system with a higher affinity for glucose being expressed when pentose saccharides are consumed. This behavior was more pronounced when WSH was used as substrate.

Conclusions

The previously observed co-consumption of glucose and pentoses with a preference for the latter was herein confirmed. However, once all pentoses were consumed, C. saccharolyticus most probably expressed another uptake system to account for the observed increased glucose uptake rate. This phenomenon could be quantitatively captured in a kinetic model of the entire diauxic-like growth process. Moreover, the observation indicates a regulation system that has fundamental research relevance, since pentose and glucose uptake in C. saccharolyticus has only been described with ABC transporters, whereas previously reported diauxic growth phenomena have been correlated mainly to PTS systems for sugar uptake.

The process of biogas upgrading with ionic liquids, i.e. pure 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)imide ([bmim][Tf2N]), aqueous choline chloride/urea (ChCl/Urea), and aqueous 1-allyl-3-methyl imidazole formate ([Amim][HCOO]), was simulated in Aspen Plus and compared with the conventional water scrubbing upgrading technique. The comparisons of the performances on the amount of recirculated solvents and energy usage show the following order: aqueous [Amim][HCOO]<aqueous ChCl/Urea<[bmim][Tf2N]<water. Six different co-digestion plants (anaerobic digestion, AD, plants) were surveyed to acquire data for comparison. The selected plants had different raw biogas production capacities and produced gas with differing methane content. The data confirmed the simulation results that the type of substrate and the configuration of AD process are two factors affecting energy usage, investment cost, as well as operation and maintenance costs for the subsequent biogas upgrading. In addition, the simulation indicated that the energy usage of the ionic liquid-based upgrading was lower than that of the conventional upgrading techniques in Scandinavian AD plants. The estimated cost including investment, operation and maintenance for the ionic liquid technology showed to be lower than that for the water scrubbing upgrading process.

Owners of stables and owners of zoos have difficulty finding an economically sustainable deposition of their produced manure. More than two million tons of horse manure are produced in urban environments in Sweden every year. If the manure cannot be used as fertilizer on farm land it is classified as a waste fraction and should be handled according to current regulations. The manure is a valuable waste fraction that contains both energy and nutrients. If the manure cannot be spread on farm land more applications need to be identified, where the energy and nutrients in the manure can be used. The focus in this study is to investigate possible applications for the usage of horse and zoo manure within Borås municipality where, among other things, a waste water treatment plant and a combined heat and power plant are available. Horse and zoo manure have been investigated in the following applications: co-digestion with sewage sludge at a waste water treatment plant (lab experiments), co-digestion with food waste (theoretical), co-incineration with waste (full scale) and co-incineration with biomass (theoretical). Potential quantity of manure and economical and legal aspects have been studied as well. There is no compilation of the number of horses in the country which makes it hard to estimate the true quantity of manure. The quantity of manure from the zoos are somewhat easier to estimate since the zoo owners are fewer and have knowledge of their manure production. The co-digestions experiments in this study showed that addition of horse manure to digestion can be of interest in many ways, among other things it can give a more stable biogas production and a possible decrease in the Cd/P-ratio in the end product. Horse manure turned out to have a faster degradation rate compared to zoo manure, however the degradation rate was lower than that of sewage sludge. Zoo manure gave a relatively low biogas production compared to horse manure at thermophilic conditions. The co-incineration trial with waste and manure gave no negative effect with regard to emissions and operation. However, the amount of manure added to the incineration trial was low. The theoretical studies regarding the co-incineration with biomass, showed two potential alternatives that need to be investigated further. Interesting aspects to look further upon, based on this study, are for example: • Laws and regulations in the EU regarding manure. • Co-digestion of manure and sewage sludge in a larger scale. • Laws and regulations and costs regarding incineration of manure with biomass.