Engineering Commons^™

Minimizing Ethanol Concentration In Organosolv Pretreatment For The Saccharification Of Loblolly Pine, Nelson B. Heringer

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organic solvent pretreatment, commonly known as organosolv, is a method used to prepare biomass for enzymatic hydrolysis for the production of biofuels. This method common uses ethanol as the organic solvent. However, this creates an economic issue with the product stream, as ethanol becomes a product and input. This project sought to explore how decreasing the use of ethanol in organosolv pretreatment affected the recoverability of sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was pretreated at 170 °C for 60 minutes in 1% dilute sulfuric acid and an ethanol concentration varying from 65% to 35%. Compositional …

A Study On The Be2100 Noninvasive Biomass Sensor As An Instrument For Measuring Optical Density During Fed-Batch Fermentation At Various Stir Rates, Hannah Moreland

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fusion proteins, engineered proteins that combine the DNA sequences and therefore properties of two different proteins, can be used in a variety of therapeutic purposes. One example of a therapeutic fusion protein is collagen binding domain-parathyroid hormone glutathione-S-transferase (CBD-PTH-GST), which can combat osteoporosis by binding specifically to collagen in the vertebral column and promoting bone growth through the release of calcium. This fusion protein is being expressed with Escherichia coli at the University of Arkansas through fed-batch fermentation, a method that produces large volume of cells through fermentation in a controlled environment in a bioreactor. It is necessary to track …

An Estimation Of Available Cellulosic Biomass In Ten Counties In Northeastern Arkansas From 1999-2011, Thomas Jenkins

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore the possibility of siting a biorefinery that produces cellulosic ethanol in the Delta region of Arkansas, which is the main agricultural area of the state. Four major crops that the state of Arkansas produces on a yearly basis that could potentially be used for cellulosic ethanol production are: corn, rice, sorghum, and soybeans. This research will result in the generation of maps that will be useful in quantifying feedstock produced in the Delta region of Arkansas, which can be used by a biorefinery. An actual site will not be chosen based strictly …

Characterization And Quantification Of Monomers, Oligomers, And By-Products From Xylan During Biomass Pretreatment, Ching-Shuan Lau

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biomass pretreatment generates inhibitory products, which reduce the overall yield of xylose for ethanol production. Understanding of hemicellulose depolymerization into xylose is essential to identify the pretreatment conditions that maximize xylose formation, but minimize the generation of these inhibitory products, such as formic acid and furfural. Thus, the goal of this project is to understand how dilute acid pretreatment parameters affect hemicellulose depolymerization, maximize xylose concentrations, and minimize by-products formation.

To progress towards this goal, rates and mechanisms of hemicellulose release must be determined. Birchwood xylan was used as the starting material to produce xylose oligomers. The hydrolyzed birchwood xylan …

Optimization Of A Dynamic Hot Water Pretreatment Of Switchgrass Using Catalysis By Carbonation To Maximize Carbochemical Yields, Rohit Tanaji Dhamdere

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A bio-refinery is a facility that converts renewable bio-resources into value-added chemicals and products. In this context of a bio-refinery, the production of the carbochemicals such as HMF, furfural and organic acids illustrate that multiple products can be produced from a renewable source such as lignocellulosic biomass (switchgrass). Traditionally, carbochemicals such as furfural and HMF are produced using inorganic acids such as H2SO4, HCL, and H3PO4. The use of such acids requires the application of high cost materials of construction such as Hastelloy-C, titanium etc.

The objective of this study is to develop a semi-continuous process for the conversion of …