Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences
Vol. 51 No. 2 (2019)

Alkaline-assisted Microwave Pretreatment of Tetraselmis suecica Biomass for Fed-batch Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Mohd Asyraf Kassim (Bioprocess Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11900 Penang,)
Tan Kean Meng (Bioprocess Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11900 Penang,)
Noor Aziah Serri (Bioprocess Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11900 Penang,)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Apr 2019

Abstract

A two-part study on pretreatment and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated Tetraselmis suecica using a high initial biomass concentration was conducted. First, the effect of different pretreatment processes, i.e. microwave (MC), dilute alkaline (AK), and microwave-alkaline assisted (MAK) pretreatment, on enzymatic hydrolysis of T. suecica biomass was evaluated. Furthermore, high initial biomass concentration enzymatic hydrolysis improvement via a fed-batch strategy was performed. Among the pretreatments tested, the MAK pretreatment produced the highest sugar concentration at 9.83 ± 0.24 mg/mL, corresponding to a conversion yield of up to 85.58% of carbohydrate content available in the pretreated biomass. The solid fraction generated after pretreatment was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The FTIR analysis revealed a significant change in the functional hydroxyl and acetyl groups of the biomass, which is favorable for enzymatic hydrolysis. Introducing an initial microalgal biomass concentration beyond 15% (w/v) exhibited a low enzymatic hydrolysis yield. The fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis strategy of the MAK pretreated T. suecica was further investigated by adding the substrate at different time intervals. The findings indicate that the fed-batch operation system could enhance sugar production and enzymatic hydrolysis yield one-fold.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

JETS

Publisher

Subject

Engineering

Description

Journal of Engineering and Technological Sciences welcomes full research articles in the area of Engineering Sciences from the following subject areas: Aerospace Engineering, Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Environmental ...