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Results for “biomass compositional analysis”

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Genetic loci simultaneously controlling lignin monomers and biomass digestibility of rice straw

Lignin content and composition are crucial factors affecting biomass digestibility. Exploring the genetic loci simultaneously affecting lignin-relevant traits and biomass digestibility is a precondition for lignin genetic manipulation towards energy crop breeding. In this study, a high-throughput platform was employed to assay the lignin content, lignin composition and biomass enzymatic digestibility of a rice recombinant inbred line population. Correlation analysis indicated that the absolute content of lignin monomers rather than lignin content had negative effects on biomass saccharification, whereas the relative content of p-hydroxyphenyl unit and the molar ratio of p-hydroxyphenyl unit to guaiacyl unit exhibited positive roles. Eight QTL clusters were identified and four of them affecting both lignin composition and biomass digestibility. Here, the additive effects of clustered QTL revealed consistent relationships between lignin-relevant traits and biomass digestibility. Pyramiding rice lines containing the above four positive alleles for increasing biomass digestibility were selected and showed comparable lignin content, decreased syringyl or guaiacyl unit and increased molar percentage of p-hydroxyphenyl unit, the molar ratio of p-hydroxyphenyl unit to guaiacyl unit and sugar releases. More importantly, the lodging resistance and eating/cooking quality of pyramiding lines were not sacrificed, indicating the QTL information could be applied to select desirable energy rice lines.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Image Analysis for Rapid Assessment and Quality-Based Sorting of Corn Stover

Imaging in the visible spectrum is a low-cost tool that can be readily deployed for in-field or over-belt monitoring of biomass quality for bio-refining operations. Rapid image analysis coupled with innovative preprocessing may reduce the impacts of feedstock variability through identification of contaminants or other material attributes to guide selective sorting and quality management. Image analysis was employed to evaluate the quality of corn stover in red-green-blue (RGB) chromatic space. This study used controlled, bench-scale imaging as a proof-of-concept for rapid quality assessment of corn stover based on variations in material attributes, including chemical and physical attributes, that relate to biological degradation and soil contamination. Additionally, logistic regression-based classification algorithms were used to develop a method for biomass screening as a function of biological degradation or soil contamination. This study demonstrated the use of image analysis to extract features from RGB color space to investigate variations in critical material attributes from chemical composition of corn stover. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) suggested a correlation between red band intensity and biological degradation, while detailed surface texture analysis was found to distinguish among variations in ash. These insights offer promise for development of a rapid screening tool that could be deployed by farmers for in-field assessment of biomass quality or biorefinery operators for in-line sorting and process optimization.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gasification and Techno-Economic Analysis of High-Impact Biomass Feedstocks for the Synthesis of High-Octane Gasoline

Five economically advantaged biomass feedstocks identified in the US Department of Energy's 2016 Billion Ton Study were gasified and the syngas reformed at the bench scale to study the feedstock price-performance relationship. The distribution of reformed syngas compositions, heating values, and yields were similar across the different feedstocks and blends thereof, which ranged from inexpensive residual wastes to more expensive and higher quality biomass, revealing that feedstock performance was mostly insensitive to its price. Custom blended feedstocks produced syngas with characteristics resembling linear combinations of syngas from single-component feedstocks, supporting the ability to customize and predict blended properties based on single-feedstock data. A techno-economic analysis of specific feedstock costs for producing high-octane gasoline showed that miscanthus and forest residues were the most cost-effective with gas yields consistent with experimental gasification data. A field-to-wheels life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions showed that forest residues was the most environmentally benign feedstock of those studied.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Variation in sugarcane biomass composition and enzymatic saccharification of leaves, internodes and roots

The composition of biomass determines its suitability for different applications within a biorefinery system. The proportion of the major biomass fractions (sugar, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) may vary in different sugarcane genotypes and growth environments and different parts of the plant. This study investigated the composition of mature and immature internodes, roots and mature leaves of sugarcane. Internodes were found to have a significantly larger alcohol-soluble component than leaves and roots. The primary difference between the immature and mature internodes was the ratio of soluble sugars. In mature tissues, sucrose content was significantly higher, whereas in immature internodal tissues there was lower sucrose and heightened concentrations of reducing sugars. Carbon (C) partitioning in leaf tissues was characterised by low levels of soluble components and high “other” and cell wall fractions. Root tissue had low ratios of soluble fractions relative to their cell wall contents, indicating a lack of storage of soluble carbon. There was no significant difference in the ratio of the major cell wall fractions between the major organ types. Characterisation of individual non-cellulosic monomers indicated leaf and root tissues had significantly higher arabinose and galactose fractions. Significantly larger proportions of syringyl lignin compounds and the hydroxycinnamic compound, p-coumaric acid were observed in mature internodal tissues compared to the other tissue types. Tissue-specific differences in composition were shown to greatly affect the recalcitrance of the cell wall to enzymatic saccharification. Overall, this study displayed clear evidence of the differential partitioning of C throughout the sugarcane plant in specific organs. These organ-specific differences have major implications in their utility as a bioproduct feedstock. For example, the inclusion of trash (leaves) with the culms (internodes) may alter processing efficiency.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ultrahigh performance LC/FT-MS non-targeted screening for biomass burning organic aerosol with MZmine2 and MFAssignR

In recent years, ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LC/FT-MS) based non-targeted screening (NTS) methods have become increasingly popular for comprehensive analysis of complex organic mixtures. However, applying these methods for environmental complex mixture analysis is challenging due to the extreme complexity of natural samples and a lack of standard samples or surrogates for environmental complex mixtures. Furthermore, limited molecular markers in the databases and insufficient data processing software workflows make the application of these methods more challenging for environmental complex mixtures. In this work, we implement a new NTS data processing workflow to process data collected from ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography and Fourier transform Orbitrap Elite Mass Spectrometry (LC/FT-MS) by combining MZmine2 and MFAssignR, two opensource data processing tools and commercial Mesquite liquid smoke as a surrogate for biomass burning organic aerosol. MZmine2.53 data extraction followed MFAssignR molecular formula assignment offered noise free and highly accurate 1733 individual molecular formulas presented in liquid smoke with 4906 molecular species, including isomers. The results of this new approach were consistent with the results of direct infusion FT-MS analysis confirming its reliability. Over 90% of the molecular formulas presented in mesquite liquid smoke were matched with the molecular formulas of ambient biomass burning organic aerosol. This suggests the potential use of commercial liquid smoke as a surrogate for biomass burning organic aerosol research. Furthermore, the presented method significantly improves the identification of the molecular composition of biomass burning organic aerosol by successfully addressing some of the limitations related to the data analysis and giving a semi quantitative insight into the analysis.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Abundance of Major Cell Wall Components in Natural Variants and Pedigrees of Populus trichocarpa

The rapid analysis of biopolymers including lignin and sugars in lignocellulosic biomass cell walls is essential for the analysis of the large sample populations needed for identifying heritable genetic variation in biomass feedstocks for biofuels and bioproducts. In this study, we reported the analysis of cell wall lignin content, syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio, as well as glucose and xylose content by high-throughput pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry (py-MBMS) for >3,600 samples derived from hundreds of accessions of Populus trichocarpa from natural populations, as well as pedigrees constructed from 14 parents (7 × 7). Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression models were built from the samples of known sugar composition previously determined by hydrolysis followed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Key spectral features positively correlated with glucose content consisted of m/z 126, 98, and 69, among others, deriving from pyrolyzates such as hydroxymethylfurfural, maltol, and other sugar-derived species. Xylose content positively correlated primarily with many lignin-derived ions and to a lesser degree with m/z 114, deriving from a lactone produced from xylose pyrolysis. Models were capable of predicting glucose and xylose contents with an average error of less than 4%, and accuracy was significantly improved over previously used methods. The differences in the models constructed from the two sample sets varied in training sample number, but the genetic and compositional uniformity of the pedigree set could be a potential driver in the slightly better performance of that model in comparison with the natural variants. Broad-sense heritability of glucose and xylose composition using these data was 0.32 and 0.34, respectively. In summary, we have demonstrated the use of a single high-throughput method to predict sugar and lignin composition in thousands of poplar samples to estimate the heritability and phenotypic plasticity of traits necessary to develop optimized feedstocks for bioenergy applications.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2016

An in-depth understanding of biomass recalcitrance using natural poplar variants as the feedstock

Here, in an effort to better understand the biomass recalcitrance, six natural poplar variants were selected as feedstocks based on previous sugar release analysis. Compositional analysis and physicochemical characterizations of these poplars were performed and the correlations between these physicochemical properties and enzymatic hydrolysis yield were investigated. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 13 C solid state NMR were used to determine the degree of polymerization (DP) and crystallinity index (CrI) of cellulose, and the results along with the sugar release study indicated that cellulose DP likely played a more important role in enzymatic hydrolysis. Simons’ stain revealed that the accessible surface area of substrate significantly varied among these variants from 17.3 to 33.2 mg g$–1\atop{biomass}$ as reflected by dye adsorption, and cellulose accessibility was shown as one of the major factors governing substrates digestibility. HSQC and 31 P NMR analysis detailed the structural features of poplar lignin variants. Overall, cellulose relevant factors appeared to have a stronger correlation with glucose release, if any, than lignin structural features. Lignin structural features, such as a phenolic hydroxyl group and the ratio of syringyl and guaiacyl (S/G), were found to have a more convincing impact on xylose release. Low lignin content, low cellulose DP, and high cellulose accessibility generally favor enzymatic hydrolysis; however, recalcitrance cannot be simply judged on any single substrate factor.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Rapid Analysis of Ash Composition Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

Inorganic compounds are known to be problematic in the thermochemical conversion of biomass to syngas and ultimately hydrocarbon fuels. The elements Si, K, Ca, Na, S, P, Cl, Mg, Fe, and Al are particularly problematic and are known to influence reaction pathways, contribute to fouling and corrosion, poison catalysts, and impact waste streams. Substantial quantities of inorganic species can be entrained in the bark of trees during harvest operations. Herbaceous feedstocks often have even greater quantities of inorganic constituents, which can account for as much as one-fifth of the total dry matter. Current methodologies to measure the concentrations of these elements, such as inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry/mass spectrometry (ICP-OES/MS) are expensive in time and reagents. This study demonstrates that a new methodology employing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can rapidly and accurately analyze the inorganic constituents in a wide range of biomass materials, including both woody and herbaceous examples. This technique requires little or no sample preparation, does not consume any reagents, and the analytical data is available immediately. In addition to comparing LIBS data with the results from ICP-OES methods, this work also includes discussions of sample preparation techniques, calibration curves for interpreting LIBS spectra, minimum detection limits, and the use of internal standards and standard reference materials.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Biomass for thermochemical conversion: targets and challenges

Bioenergy will be one component of a suite of alternatives to fossil fuels. Effective conversion of biomass to energy will require the careful pairing of advanced conversion technologies with biomass feedstocks optimized for the purpose. Lignocellulosic biomass can be converted to useful energy products via two distinct pathways: enzymatic or thermochemical conversion. The thermochemical pathways are reviewed and potential biotechnology or breeding targets to improve feedstocks for pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion are identified. Biomass traits influencing the effectiveness of the thermochemical process (cell wall composition, mineral and moisture content) differ from those important for enzymatic conversion and so properties are discussed in the language of biologists (biochemical analysis) as well as that of engineers (proximate and ultimate analysis). We discuss the genetic control, potential environmental influence, and consequences of modification of these traits. Improving feedstocks for thermochemical conversion can be accomplished by the optimization of lignin levels, and the reduction of ash and moisture content. We suggest that ultimate analysis and associated properties such as H:C, O:C, and heating value might be more amenable than traditional biochemical analysis to the high-throughput necessary for the phenotyping of large plant populations. Expanding our knowledge of these biomass traits will play a critical role in the utilization of biomass for energy production globally, and add to our understanding of how plants tailor their composition with their environment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Expression of S-adenosylmethionine Hydrolase in Tissues Synthesizing Secondary Cell Walls Alters Specific Methylated Cell Wall Fractions and Improves Biomass Digestibility

Plant biomass is a large source of fermentable sugars for the synthesis of bioproducts using engineered microbes. These sugars are stored as cell wall polymers, mainly cellulose and hemicellulose, and are embedded with lignin, which makes their enzymatic hydrolysis challenging. One of the strategies to reduce cell wall recalcitrance is the modification of lignin content and composition. Lignin is a phenolic polymer of methylated aromatic alcohols and its synthesis in tissues developing secondary cell walls is a significant sink for the consumption of the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet). In this study, we demonstrate in Arabidopsis stems that targeted expression of AdoMet hydrolase (AdoMetase, E.C. 3.3.1.2) in secondary cell wall synthesizing tissues reduces the AdoMet pool and impacts lignin content and composition. In particular, both NMR analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry of lignin in engineered biomass showed relative enrichment of non-methylated p-hydroxycinnamyl (H) units and a reduction of dimethylated syringyl (S) units. This indicates a lower degree of methylation compared to that in wild-type lignin. Quantification of cell wall-bound hydroxycinnamates revealed a reduction of ferulate in AdoMetase transgenic lines. Biomass from transgenic lines, in contrast to that in control plants, exhibits an enrichment of glucose content and a reduction in the degree of hemicellulose glucuronoxylan methylation. We also show that these modifications resulted in a reduction of cell wall recalcitrance, because sugar yield generated by enzymatic biomass saccharification was greater than that of wild-type plants. Considering that transgenic plants show no important diminution of biomass yields, and that heterologous expression of AdoMetase protein can be spatiotemporally optimized, this novel approach provides a valuable option for the improvement of lignocellulosic biomass feedstock.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Alkaline-SDS cell lysis of microbes with acetone protein precipitation for proteomic sample preparation in 96-well plate format

Plate-based proteomic sample preparation offers a solution to the large sample throughput demands in the biotechnology field where hundreds or thousands of engineered microbes are constructed for testing is routine. Meanwhile, sample preparation methods that work efficiently on broader microbial groups are desirable for new applications of proteomics in other fields, such as microbial communities. Here, we detail a step-by-step protocol that consists of cell lysis in an alkaline chemical buffer (NaOH/SDS) followed by protein precipitation with high-ionic strength acetone in 96-well format. The protocol works for a broad range of microbes ( e . g ., Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, non-filamentous fungi) and the resulting proteins are ready for tryptic digestion for bottom-up quantitative proteomic analysis without the need for desalting column cleanup. The yield of protein using this protocol increases linearly with respect to the amount of starting biomass from 0.5–2.0 OD*mL of cells. By using a bench-top automated liquid dispenser, a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly option to eliminating pipette tips and reducing reagent waste, the protocol takes approximately 30 minutes to extract protein from 96 samples. Tests on mock mixtures showed expected results that the biomass composition structure is in close agreement with the experimental design. Lastly, we applied the protocol for the composition analysis of a synthetic community of environmental isolates grown on two different media. This protocol has been developed to facilitate rapid, low-variance sample preparation of hundreds of samples and allow flexibility for future protocol development.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Observations of Regional Biomass Burning and Urban Trace Gas Enhancement Ratios in Southeast Asia and their Relationship with Aerosol Composition and Air Quality

Biomass burning in Southeast Asia is a major pollutant source contributing to poor air quality throughout the region. Thus, understanding these emissions is critical for predicting and mitigating their health impacts. While there have been many studies reporting ground-based and satellite measurements, airborne regional scale measurements to tie the two together have not been common. The 2019 Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) field campaign examined Southeast Asian regional sources and their effects on aerosol/cloud interactions using a combination of airborne, shipborne, and ground-based measurements. Flights sampled a variety of airmasses in the Philippine, South China, and Sulu seas during both monsoonal and post-monsoonal conditions. Thus, CAMP2Ex provides a unique opportunity to study how transported and local emissions affect air quality trends and airmass chemical composition. In this analysis, correlated airborne in situ enhancement ratios of CH4 and CO are used to identify source regimes of high urban or biomass burning influence as well as urban regimes with different emission factors. Combined with HYSPLIT backtrajectories, these source regimes are examined for their effects on ozone, NOy, and aerosol chemical composition. For example, while observed O3/CO enhancement ratios remain constant for urban differing source regimes, NOy/CO ratios are observed to vary across these regimes. For biomass burning sources, O3/CO enhancement ratios are observed to be lower than previously reported by measurements in the region.

Joshua Paul Digangi↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Observations of Regional Biomass Burning and Urban Trace Gas Enhancement Ratios in Southeast Asia and their Relationship with Aerosol Composition and Air Quality

Biomass burning in Southeast Asia is a major pollutant source contributing to poor air quality throughout the region. Thus, understanding these emissions is critical for predicting and mitigating their health impacts. While there have been many studies reporting ground-based and satellite measurements, airborne regional scale measurements to tie the two together have not been common. The 2019 Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) field campaign examined Southeast Asian regional sources and their effects on aerosol/cloud interactions using a combination of airborne, shipboard, and ground-based measurements. Flights sampled a variety of airmasses in the Philippine, South China, and Sulu seas during both the southwest monsoon and monsoon transition periods. Thus, CAMP2Ex provides a unique opportunity to study how transported and local emissions affect air quality trends and airmass chemical composition. In this analysis, correlated airborne in situ enhancement ratios of CH4 to CO are used to identify source regimes of high urban or biomass burning influence as well as urban regimes with different emission factors. Combined with HYSPLIT backtrajectories, these source regimes are examined for their effects on ozone, NOy, and aerosol chemical composition. For example, while observed O3/CO enhancement ratios remain constant for differing urban source regimes, NOy/CO ratios are observed to vary across these regimes. For biomass burning sources, O3/CO enhancement ratios are observed to be lower than previously reported by measurements in the region.

Joshua Paul Digangi↗
DOE OSTI2023

Techno-Economic Case Study: Low-Temperature Conversion Performance Based on Isolated Anatomical Fractions of Corn Stover

This report summarizes analysis conducted to support a case study under the Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) focused on techno-economic analysis (TEA) modeling to quantify the process yield and resulting process cost impacts for processing isolated anatomical fractions of corn stover through a low-temperature conversion (biochemical) pathway. It is hypothesized that different individual anatomical fractions of corn stover vary in both composition and recalcitrance, giving biorefineries options in whether and how to deal with fractionated or whole biomass feedstock. By quantifying the techno-economic impacts of this variability, we provide actionable information for end users to understand tradeoffs in conversion system yields and economics in considering feedstock processing decisions at the biorefinery gate. For this study, we worked with FCIC researchers to obtain data on the compositional analysis and conversion performance of whole corn stover alongside three individual anatomical fractions (cobs, husks, and stalks) across key steps of the biorefinery conversion process within FCIC’s research scope—pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. This TEA screening assessment highlighted biorefinery economic trade-offs observed through this approach. Namely, relative to processing whole stover biomass, two of the three anatomical fractions for which composition/conversion data were available (cobs and husks) demonstrated the ability to achieve higher fuel yields and lower minimum fuel selling prices (MFSPs), while the third fraction (stalks) led to the opposite result, as a composite reflection of compositional differences and process convertibility.

cost impacts↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tropical Red Macroalgae Cultivation with a Focus on Compositional Analysis

To create carbon efficient sources of bioenergy feedstocks and feedstuff for aquaculture and terrestrial livestock, it is critical to develop and commercialize the most efficient seaweed cultivation approach with a sustainable nutrient input supply. Here, we present data for a novel, onshore tropical macroalgae cultivation system, based on influent deep seawater as the nutrient and carbon sources. Two red algal species were selected, Agardhiella subulata and Halymenia hawaiiana, as the basis for growth optimization. Highest productivity in small-scale cultivation was demonstrated with A. subulata in the 10% deep seawater (64.7 µg N L−1) treatment, growing at up to 26% specific growth rate day−1 with highest yields observed at 247.5 g m−2 day−1 fresh weight. The highest yields for H. hawaiiana were measured with the addition of 10% deep seawater up to 8.8% specific growth rate day−1 and yields at 63.3 g fresh weight m−2 day−1 equivalent. Biomass should be culled weekly or biweekly to avoid density limitations, which likely contributed to a decrease in SGR over time. With a measured 30–40% carbon content of the ash-free dry weight (20–30% of the dry weight) biomass, this translates to an almost 1:1 CO2 capture to biomass ratio. The compositional fingerprint of the high carbohydrate content of both Agardhiella and Halymenia makes for an attractive feedstock for downstream biorefinery applications. By focusing on scaling and optimizing seaweed farming technologies for large-scale onshore farms, the opportunities for yield potential, adaptability to cultivation conditions, and meeting global sustainability goals through novel, carbon-negative biomass sources such as seaweed can be realized.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗