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Fermentation
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Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future
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Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 34722

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abdelrahman Zaky

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, The King’s Buildings, Roger Land Building, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
Interests: biorefinery; bioenergy; biofuels; biobased chemicals; microbiology; fermentation; marine yeast; marine microalgae; seaweed; seawater; sustainability; sustainable development; global warming mitigation
Dr. Abd El-Fatah Abomohra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SACE), Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
Interests: biofuels; waste recycling; microalgae; seaweeds; fermentation; anaerobic digestion; thermal conversion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biofuels and bio-based products are widely produced by fermentation through biorefinery processes, and are among the best alternatives to fossil-based fuels and chemicals due to their capacity for net-negative carbon emissions, which is a vital contribution towards achieving the global ambition of a net-zero economy. However, current biorefinery technologies mainly rely on edible crops and freshwater as the main inputs for the process. With an ever-growing population and demand for biofuels and other bio-based produces, there are concerns over the use of the world’s limited freshwater and food crop resources for non-nutritional activities, as well as there not being enough arable land and freshwater to produce enough biomass to satisfy the likely biofuel demand and to capture the excessive amounts of CO2 that have already been released into the atmosphere. On the other hand, marine-based biorefinery is a new approach, where seawater, marine biomass (seaweed) and marine microorganisms (yeast, bacteria and microalgae) are used in fermentation processes for the production of biofuels and bio-based compounds.

Seas and oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and contain more than 97% of the Earth’s water as well as the minerals needed for biomass (seaweed) production and their subsequent conversion to bioenergy. Compared to terrestrial biomass, seaweed grows much faster, up to 50 times more efficiently in a CO2 fixation, and are hugely abundant worldwide, able to be cultivated in the sea forming sea forests that potentially provide great advantages to the marine environment. Marine yeasts are more tolerant to inhibitors and can carry out fermentation using seawater-based media. Marine microalgae can grow efficiently on seawater and utilise CO2, from the atmosphere or from fermentation and anaerobic digestion (AD) processes, as a carbon source for growth. Combining all these (seawater, seaweed, marine microalgae and yeast, fermentation and AD) in an integrated marine biorefinery system could be a promising approach for supporting the global effort regarding mitigating climate change, as well as addressing the world’s water, food and energy shortages.

Dr. Abdelrahman Zaky
Dr. Abd El-Fatah Abomohra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • marine yeast
  • marine microorganisms
  • halotolerant microorganisms
  • marine microalgae
  • seaweed
  • seawater
  • biofuels
  • bioenergy
  • high-value chemicals
  • bioethanol
  • biodiesel
  • biogas

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 172 KiB  
Editorial
Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future
by Abdelrahman Zaky and Abdelfatah Abomohra
Fermentation 2023, 9(6), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9060554 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1892
Abstract
Biofuels and bio-based products are among the best alternatives to fossil-based fuels and chemicals due to their capacity for net-negative carbon emissions, which is a vital contribution to the global ambition of a net-zero economy [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

16 pages, 2522 KiB  
Article
Techno-Economic Analysis of Macroalgae Biorefineries: A Comparison between Ethanol and Butanol Facilities
by Tamara Llano, Carlos Arce, Lien E. Gallart, Ana Perales and Alberto Coz
Fermentation 2023, 9(4), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9040340 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2485
Abstract
Ulva rigida seaweed is constituted by ulvan, which is a sulfated polysaccharide with uses in a wide variety of applications. After the ulvan-oriented extraction process, a crystalline and recalcitrant residue, the so-called pulp, appears. In this work, this residue was valorized through a [...] Read more.
Ulva rigida seaweed is constituted by ulvan, which is a sulfated polysaccharide with uses in a wide variety of applications. After the ulvan-oriented extraction process, a crystalline and recalcitrant residue, the so-called pulp, appears. In this work, this residue was valorized through a multiple-stage process. The total processing of the algae consists of hot water extraction, acid hydrolysis, ABE fermentation, and distillation in order to obtain not only ulvan but also butanol and bioethanol to be used as biofuels by simulating two third-generation algae-based biorefineries in Aspen Plus v10 software. Third-generation plants do not compete with food and algae biomass, and they do not require delignification nor pretreatment steps, which are usually the bottleneck of second-generation plants. A plant producing butanol as biofuel together with diluted ulvan, acetone, and ethanol as byproducts was modelled in Aspen Plus software. Regarding the profitability of the investment, the plants producing bioethanol and butanol were economically feasible. The economic parameters for the bioethanol and butanol plants were as follows: NPV equal to 27.66 M$ and 16.67 M$, and IRR equal to 46% and 37%, respectively. The discounted return period was acceptable for these types of plants, which were 4.11 and 3.16 years for the ABE biorefinery and the bioethanol biorefinery, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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24 pages, 3437 KiB  
Article
Molecular Identification and Biochemical Characterization of Novel Marine Yeast Strains with Potential Application in Industrial Biotechnology
by Boutheina Bessadok, Bassem Jaouadi, Thomas Brück, Andrea Santulli, Concetta Maria Messina and Saloua Sadok
Fermentation 2022, 8(10), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8100538 - 14 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3773
Abstract
Cell-based agriculture is an emerging and attractive alternative to produce various food ingredients. In this study, five strains of marine yeast were isolated, molecularly identified and biochemically characterized. Molecular identification was realized by sequencing the DNA ITS1 and D1/D2 region, and sequences were [...] Read more.
Cell-based agriculture is an emerging and attractive alternative to produce various food ingredients. In this study, five strains of marine yeast were isolated, molecularly identified and biochemically characterized. Molecular identification was realized by sequencing the DNA ITS1 and D1/D2 region, and sequences were registered in GenBank as Yarrowia lipolytica YlTun15, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa RmTun15, Candida tenuis CtTun15, Debaryomyces hansenii DhTun2015 and Trichosporon asahii TaTun15. Yeasts showed protein content varying from 26% (YlTun15) to 40% (CtTun15 and DhTun2015), and essential amino acids ranging from 38.1 to 64.4% of the total AAs (CtTun15-YlTun15, respectively). Lipid content varied from 11.15 to 37.57% with substantial amount of PUFA (>12% in RmTun15). All species had low levels of Na (<0.15 mg/100 g) but are a good source of Ca and K. Yeast cytotoxic effect was investigated against human embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293); results showed improved cell viability with all added strains, indicating safety of the strains used. Based on thorough literature investigation and yeast composition, the five identified strains could be classified not only as oleaginous yeasts but also as single cell protein (SCP) (DhTun2015 and CtTun15) and single cell oil (SCO) (RmTun15, YlTun15 and TaTun15) producers; and therefore, they represent a source of alternative ingredients for food, feed and other sectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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14 pages, 1640 KiB  
Article
The Biorefinery of the Marine Microalga Crypthecodinium cohnii as a Strategy to Valorize Microalgal Oil Fractions
by Patrícia Moniz, Daniela Martins, Ana Cristina Oliveira, Alberto Reis and Teresa Lopes da Silva
Fermentation 2022, 8(10), 502; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8100502 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2243
Abstract
Chrypthecodinium cohnii lipids have been almost exclusively used as a source of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Such an approach wastes the remaining microalgal lipid fraction. The present work presents a novel process to produce C. cohnii biomass, using low-cost industrial by-products (raw glycerol and [...] Read more.
Chrypthecodinium cohnii lipids have been almost exclusively used as a source of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Such an approach wastes the remaining microalgal lipid fraction. The present work presents a novel process to produce C. cohnii biomass, using low-cost industrial by-products (raw glycerol and corn steep liquor), in a 7L-bioreactor, under fed-batch regime. At the end of the fermentation, the biomass concentration reached 9.2 g/L and the lipid content and lipid average productivity attained 28.0% (w/w dry cell weight) and 13.6 mg/L h, respectively. Afterwards the microalgal biomass underwent a saponification reaction to produce fatty acid (FA) soaps, which were further converted into FA ethyl ester (FA EE). C. cohnii FA EE mixture was then fractionated, using the urea complexation method at different temperatures, in order to obtain a polyunsaturated fatty acid ethyl ester (PUFA EE) rich fraction, that could be used for food/pharmaceutical/cosmetic purposes, and a saturated fatty acid ethyl ester (SAT EE) rich fraction, which could be used as biodiesel. The temperature that promoted the best separation between PUFA and SAT EE, was −18 °C, resulting in a liquid fraction with 91.6% (w/w) DHA, and a solid phase with 88.2% of SAT and monounsaturated fatty acid ethyl ester (MONOUNSAT), which could be used for biodiesel purposes after a hydrogenation step. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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13 pages, 1695 KiB  
Article
Effects of Fermented Seaweed Fertilizer Treatment on Paddy Amino Acid Content and Rhizosphere Microbiome Community
by Eka Sunarwidhi Prasedya, Nanda Sofian Hadi Kurniawan, Nur Ardiana, Bq Tri Khairina Ilhami, Tri Mulyaningsih, Sri Puji Astuti, Ahmad Jupri, Aluh Nikmatullah, I Komang Damar Jaya and Sri Widyastuti
Fermentation 2022, 8(9), 420; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8090420 - 26 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4322
Abstract
Seaweed has often been reported on for it potential bioresources for fertilizers to improve crop productivity and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers (CF). However, little is known about the nutritional status of the crop grown with the implementation of seaweed fertilizers (SF). [...] Read more.
Seaweed has often been reported on for it potential bioresources for fertilizers to improve crop productivity and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers (CF). However, little is known about the nutritional status of the crop grown with the implementation of seaweed fertilizers (SF). In this study, the amino acid content of rice produced by SF implementation was evaluated. Furthermore, the rhizosphere bacterial community was also investigated. The paddy seedlings were divided into five groups, control (C0), chemical fertilizer (CF), seaweed fertilizer (SF), chemical and seaweed fertilizer combination 25:75 (CFSF1), and chemical and fertilizer combination 50:50 (CFSF2). The CFSF2 group shown significantly better growth characteristics compared to other groups. Based on the concentration of macronutrients (N, P, K) in paddy leaf, CFSF2 also shown the best results. This also correlates with the abundant amino acid composition in CFSF2 in almost all tested amino acids, namely, serine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, valine, glycine, tyrosine, proline, threonine, histidine, and arginine. Interestingly, beneficial bacteria Rhizobiales were significantly higher in CFSF2-treated soil (58%) compared to CF (29%). Another important group, Vicinamibacterales, was also significantly higher in CFSF2 (58%) compared to CF (7%). Hence, these potentially contributed to the high rice amino acid content and yield in the CFSF2-treated paddy. However, further field-scale studies are needed to confirm the bioindustrial application of seaweed in agricultural systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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Review

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28 pages, 3061 KiB  
Review
Integrated Marine Biogas: A Promising Approach towards Sustainability
by Shah Faisal, Abdelrahman Zaky, Qingyuan Wang, Jin Huang and Abdelfatah Abomohra
Fermentation 2022, 8(10), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8100520 - 7 Oct 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3932
Abstract
Fossil fuel depletion, climate change, and increased global energy demands are the driving forces to find alternative sources of energy. Marine-based biorefinery has been recently discussed as a promising route to mitigate the environmental challenges, enhance the energy recovery, and provide a potential [...] Read more.
Fossil fuel depletion, climate change, and increased global energy demands are the driving forces to find alternative sources of energy. Marine-based biorefinery has been recently discussed as a promising route to mitigate the environmental challenges, enhance the energy recovery, and provide a potential source for value-added products. Anaerobic digestion is a promising technology that can convert the organic compounds of marine ecosystems into biogas. To date, a comprehensive review incorporating integrated biogas potential and effective approaches to enhance seaweed digestibility for biogas production from marine resources has not been reported. Thus, the present review aims to explore and comprehensively present seaweed and other marine resources for potential biogas production. The basics and challenges of biogas production from seaweed are elucidated. The impact of biochemical composition on biogas and the microbial communities involved in anaerobic digestion of seaweed are discussed. Utilization of different techniques such as pretreatment, co-digestion, and sequential extraction of seaweed biomass to enhance the biogas yield and to mitigate the effect of inhibitors are presented. Specifically, this article evaluates the co-digestion of seaweed with other biomass feedstocks or liquid biowastes. Integration of marine microalgae cultivation on anaerobic digestate for value-added compound production, biogas upgrading, and bioenergy recovery provides a promising approach towards a zero-waste marine-based system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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30 pages, 2160 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Marine Microalgae Production: Highlighting Human Health Products from Microalgae in View of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)
by Mohamed Ashour and Ashraf M. M. Omran
Fermentation 2022, 8(9), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8090466 - 18 Sep 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5189
Abstract
Blue biotechnology can greatly help solve some of the most serious social problems due to its wide biodiversity, which includes marine environments. Microalgae are important resources for human needs as an alternative to terrestrial plants because of their rich biodiversity, rapid growth, and [...] Read more.
Blue biotechnology can greatly help solve some of the most serious social problems due to its wide biodiversity, which includes marine environments. Microalgae are important resources for human needs as an alternative to terrestrial plants because of their rich biodiversity, rapid growth, and product contributions in many fields. The production scheme for microalgae biomass mainly consists of two processes: (I) the Build-Up process and (II) the Pull-Down process. The Build-Up process consists of (1) the super strain concept and (2) cultivation aspects. The Pull-Down process includes (1) harvesting and (2) drying algal biomass. In some cases, such as the manufacture of algal products, the (3) extraction of bioactive compounds is included. Microalgae have a wide range of commercial applications, such as in aquaculture, biofertilizer, bioenergy, pharmaceuticals, and functional foods, which have several industrial and academic applications around the world. The efficiency and success of biomedical products derived from microalgal biomass or its metabolites mainly depend on the technologies used in the cultivation, harvesting, drying, and extraction of microalgae bioactive molecules. The current review focuses on recent advanced technologies that enhance microalgae biomass within microalgae production schemes. Moreover, the current work highlights marine drugs and human health products derived from microalgae that can improve human immunity and reduce viral activities, especially COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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29 pages, 2128 KiB  
Review
The Potential of Marine Microalgae for the Production of Food, Feed, and Fuel (3F)
by Chandan Mahata, Probir Das, Shoyeb Khan, Mahmoud I. A. Thaher, Mohammed Abdul Quadir, Senthil Nagappan Annamalai and Hareb Al Jabri
Fermentation 2022, 8(7), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8070316 - 5 Jul 2022
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8966
Abstract
Whole-cell microalgae biomass and their specific metabolites are excellent sources of renewable and alternative feedstock for various products. In most cases, the content and quality of whole-cell biomass or specific microalgal metabolites could be produced by both fresh and marine microalgae strains. However, [...] Read more.
Whole-cell microalgae biomass and their specific metabolites are excellent sources of renewable and alternative feedstock for various products. In most cases, the content and quality of whole-cell biomass or specific microalgal metabolites could be produced by both fresh and marine microalgae strains. However, a large water footprint for freshwater microalgae strain is a big concern, especially if the biomass is intended for non-food applications. Therefore, if any marine microalgae could produce biomass of desired quality, it would have a competitive edge over freshwater microalgae. Apart from biofuels, recently, microalgal biomass has gained considerable attention as food ingredients for both humans and animals and feedstock for different bulk chemicals. In this regard, several technologies are being developed to utilize marine microalgae in the production of food, feed, and biofuels. Nevertheless, the production of suitable and cheap biomass feedstock using marine microalgae has faced several challenges associated with cultivation and downstream processing. This review will explore the potential pathways, associated challenges, and future directions of developing marine microalgae biomass-based food, feed, and fuels (3F). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Based Biorefinery: A Path Forward to a Sustainable Future)
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