MW-DESP: An integrated approach to ethanol production from rice straw via microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent pretreatment and sequential...
Lead Research Organisation:
Aston University
Department Name: College of Engineering and Physical Sci
Abstract
Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a sustainable energy resource to produce biofuels and biobased chemicals without affecting the global food security. The recalcitrant nature of LCB hinders enzymatic hydrolysis, thus pretreatment is a critical step. Choline chloride:glycerol (ChCl:Gly) is a promising solvent for LCB delignification. The innovation aspect of the project consists of microwave-assisted ChCl:Gly pretreatment to delignify rice straw in conjunction with a sequential cultivation of Candida tropicalis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment sugars into ethanol with the aim of developing a zero waste biorefinery. The project consists of seven research objectives with overall aim of training the Fellow for academic expertise, professional skills and multidisciplinary collaboration. The project activities are divided into seven work packages (WPs). WP1: obtain overall training and Knowledge Inter-Transfer. WP2: Raw material preprocessing, pretreatment, biomass characterization and process optimization. WP3: ChCl:Gly recycling by applying anti-solvent treatment method. WP4: Lignin recovery and conversion into bio-oil via fast-pyrolysis. WP5: Enzymatic
hydrolysis and process optimization. WP6: Studies on microbial stress (osmotic, ethanol and temperature) tolerance by employing flow cytometry, selection of well adapted yeast strains and fermentation. WP7: Techno-economic analysis based on the conceptual model of a cellulosic ethanol plant. Expected outcomes are: The technological development will create industrially accessible zero-waste strategy that can be adopted for the processing of other biomass feedstock (e.g. municipal solid waste and forestry residues). The competition between food and fuel will be avoided, thus protecting the global food security. It will also help to decrease CO2 emissions and combat global warming. This project is well aligned with the European Union biofuels support policy, aimed at lowering CO2 emissions in the transport sector.
hydrolysis and process optimization. WP6: Studies on microbial stress (osmotic, ethanol and temperature) tolerance by employing flow cytometry, selection of well adapted yeast strains and fermentation. WP7: Techno-economic analysis based on the conceptual model of a cellulosic ethanol plant. Expected outcomes are: The technological development will create industrially accessible zero-waste strategy that can be adopted for the processing of other biomass feedstock (e.g. municipal solid waste and forestry residues). The competition between food and fuel will be avoided, thus protecting the global food security. It will also help to decrease CO2 emissions and combat global warming. This project is well aligned with the European Union biofuels support policy, aimed at lowering CO2 emissions in the transport sector.
| Description | Several strategies for rice husk pretreatment have been evaluated including the use of deep eutectic solvent, microwave-assisted and autoclave processing. Two research papers are currently under review. |
| Exploitation Route | papers, further research grants |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Energy Environment Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
| Description | Eleanor Binner. - University of Nottingham |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Access to facilities and technical expertise for microwave assisted processing |
| Collaborator Contribution | host fellow, access to facilities, technical support |
| Impact | 1 paper currently under review |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | An integrated approach to ethanol production from rice straw via microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent pretreatment and sequential cultivation using Candida tropicalis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented my project to the Eleanor Binner group at the University of Nottingham. In attendance were PhD students and Postdocs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | BBNet Industrial biotechnology collaboration workshop: building stronger applications and relationships. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | - provide a comprehensive understanding of current sector opportunities, policies, and funding landscapes - foster interdisciplinary collaborations and develop skills to build strong industry-academic relationships - bridge the gap between emerging sector opportunities and practical application development - provide the opportunity to develop and tailor a personal action plan to guide their next steps |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | BBNet and EBNet joint workshop: Integration of thermal, thermochemical, and biological conversion technologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The workshop allowed me to speak with people from the industry one on one. Eventually, a virtual meeting between me and the CEO of Unyte Group was arranged to discuss about a potential collaboration that may allow their waste stream to be used as a feedstock in the integrated biorefinery concept currently been investigated in our Lab. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of rice straw to improve fermentable sugar yield for bioethanol production - A poster presented during AIME launch event in September 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The event allowed me to showcase my work which sparked questions and discussion with some researchers and postgrad students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of rice straw to improve fermentable sugar yield for ethanol production. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event allowed me to presented my work to participants and questions were asked about the data presented and experimental approach used. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Effects of different conditions on Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of rice straw. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | During the Biolab group meeting, I presented some results of my work. Some questions were asked and suggestions were made relating to some of the data presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of rice straw to improve sugar yield for ethanol production - a presentation for the EBRI seminar series, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The EBRI seminar series allowed me to speak about my work to PhD students, Postdocs, Lecturers and members of staffs of EBRI. Several questions were asked which led to further discussion about my project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | UK biofuels research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I had a telephone interview with a journalist at Chemistry & Industry magazine (www.soci.org/chemistry-and-industry) to discuss about my research project that involves the converting rice straw into biofuels. The outcome of the interview will be published anytime in 2025 and will be available to UK and international audience interested in biofuels research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |