Valorization of food and kitchen waste: An integrated strategy adopted for the production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate, bioethanol, pectinase and 2, 3-butanediol.

The present investigation gives an insight on the potential of food and kitchen waste as a suitable feed stock for the production of biopolymer, biofuels, enzymes and chemicals. Media engineering improved poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production from 0.91 g/L to 5.132 g/L. There is a five-fold increase in PHB production. The food and kitchen waste was also evaluated for the production of bioethanol, 2, 3 - butanediol, and pectinase. Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced 0.316 g of bioethanol, Bacillus sonorensis MPTD1 produced 2.47 (µM/mL)/min of pectinase and Enterobacter cloacae SG1 produced 3 g/L of 2, 3-butanediol with a productivity of 0.03 g/L/h using food and kitchen waste as carbon source. Targeting on multiple value added products will improve the overall process economics.

Bioengineering advancements, innovations and challenges on green synthesis of 2, 5-furan dicarboxylic acid.

The major drawback of chemical transformations for the production of 2, 5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) implies the usage of hazardous chemicals, high temperature and high pressure from nonrenewable resources. Alternate to chemical methods, biological methods are promising. Microbial FDCA production is improved through engineering approaches of media conditions, homologous and heterologous expression of genes, genetic and metabolic engineering, etc. The highest FDCA production of 41.29 g/L is observed by an engineered Raultella ornitholytica BF 60 from 35 g/L HMF in sodium phosphate buffer with a 95.14% yield in 72 h. Also, an enzyme cascade system of recombinant and wild enzymes like periplasmic aldehyde oxidase ABC, galactose oxidase M3-5, HRP and catalase have transformed 6.3 g/L HMF to 7.81 g/L FDCA in phosphate buffer with 100% yield in 6 h. Still, these processes are emerging for fulfilling the industrial needs due to the challenges in 'green FDCA production'.

Genomics of Lactic Acid Bacteria for Glycerol Dissimilation.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are functional starter cultures in food and dairy industry and are also regarded as power houses for bioprocess and fermentation technology. Due to extensive applications in food and medical applications, intensive research and developmental activities are going on throughout the world to understand the genomic and metabolic aspects during the past few decades. These LAB strains have significant role in production of value added chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic biomass and other by-product streams establishing a circular bioeconomy. In this context, we discuss the physiology and genetics of crude glycerol dissimilation in lactic acid bacteria, the value added chemicals produced from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol. The overview of metabolic engineering strategies to improve the cellular traits and future perspectives in constructing cellulolytic/hemicellulolytic LAB strains to establish a renewable and sustainable cost-effective biorefinery is discussed.

Biosynthesis of 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid by Aspergillus flavus APLS-1: Process optimization and intermediate product analysis.

The aim of the present study was to develop an eco-friendly biological process for the production of 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from 5-hydroxy methylfurfuraldehyde (HMF) using microorganisms. Microorganisms were isolated from the soil samples and evaluated for its biotransformation efficiency. Among the isolates, Aspergillus flavus APLS-1 was found to be potent for efficient conversion of HMF to FDCA. The bioconversion parameters were optimized by Box-Behnken design. The optimization resulted in 67% conversion efficiency where 1 g/L HMF (8 mM) was transformed to 0.83 g/L (6.6 mM) FDCA in 14 days at pH6.5 with biomass size of 5.7 g/L and biomass age 60 h. This is the first report on Aspergillus sp., capable of detoxifying HMF and produces FDCA.