Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Forest Supply Chain in Austria in the Year 2018

Wood is a renewable product, but for the supply of wood non-renewable materials are also necessary, which can have negative environmental impacts. The objective of this study was to analyze the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the forest supply chain in Austria using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods. The forest supply chain consists of several processes like site preparation and tending, harvesting, and transport. In total, 30 relevant forest processes from seedling production until delivery of wood to the plant gate were considered. Results show that in the year 2018, a total of 492,096 t of CO2 eq. were emitted in Austria for harvesting and transportation of 19.2 hm³ of timber. This corresponds to 25.63 kg CO2 eq. per m³. At 77%, transport accounts for the largest share of emissions within the supply chain. Extraction causes 14% of emissions, felling and processing cause 5%, and chipping causes 4%. GHG emissions for felling, delimbing, and crosscutting are much lower when using a chainsaw compared to harvester. The high numbers for the transport can be explained by the high transportation distances. Especially for the transportation of wood, it is necessary to find more climate-friendly solutions from a technical and organizational point of view. The provision of wood is climate-friendly, and its use enables the substitution of fossil fuels or materials with higher negative effects on climate change such as aluminum, steel, or concrete.

Application of Epoxy Resin for Improvement of the Banana Stem-Acoustic Panel

Background: Greener epoxidation by using vegetable oil to create an eco-friendly epoxide is being studied because it is a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly commodity that is safer than non-renewable materials. The aim of this research is to come up with low-cost solutions for banana trunk acoustic panels with kinetic modelling of epoxy-based palm oil. Method: In this study, the epoxidation of palm oleic acid was carried out by in situ performic acid to produce epoxidized palm oleic acid. Results: Banana trunk acoustic panel was successfully innovated based on the performance when the epoxy was applied. Lastly, a mathematical model was developed by using the numerical integration of the 4th order Runge-Kutta method, and the results showed that there is a good agreement between the simulation and experimental data, which validates the kinetic model. Conclusion: Overall, the peracid mechanism was effective in producing a high yield of epoxy from palm oleic acid that is useful for the improvement of acoustic panels based on the banana trunk.

Production of Succinic Acid From Basfia succiniciproducens

Basfia succiniciproducens is a facultative anaerobic capnophilic bacterium, isolated from rumen, that naturally produces high amounts of succinic acid by fixing CO2 and using fumarate as final electron acceptor. This metabolic feature makes it one of the ideal candidates for developing biotechnological industrial routes that could eventually replace the polluting and environment unfriendly petrochemical ones that are still main sources for the production of this value-added compound. In fact, due to the large number of applications of succinic acid that range from the more traditional ones as food additive or pharmaceutical intermediate to the most recent as building block for biopolymers and bioplastic, increasing demand and market size growth are expected in the next years. In line with a “green revolution” needed to preserve our environment, the great challenge is the establishment of commercially viable production processes that exploit renewable materials and in particular preferably non-food lignocellulosic biomasses and waste products. In this review, we describe the currently available literature concerning B. succiniciproducens since the strain was first isolated, focusing on the different renewable materials and fermentation strategies used to improve succinic acid production titers to date. Moreover, an insight into the metabolic engineering approaches and the key physiological characteristics of B. succiniciproducens deduced from the different studies are presented.

Renewable organic waste as substrate conditioning for the production of Euterpe oleracea seedlings

Forest restoration has the premise of restoring degraded native vegetation to conditions prior to degradation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the production of seedlings of a native species from the Amazon biome (Euterpe oleracea) under different substrates. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Tocantins, using a completely randomized design, and a 5x 4 factorial scheme, with five substrates (babassu stem + soil, babassu stem + rice husk + soil, coconut fiber + soil, babassu stem + fiber coconut + rice husk + soil, commercial substrate + soil - control), four trial periods (50, 100, 150 and 200 days). The evaluated variables: plant height, stem diameter, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, total dry matter, seedling quality index, leaf area and absolute growth rate. The growth of assai seedlings was influenced by the different substrates, until the 150 days after transplanting the quality and development of the seedlings were the same, both for the treatments that used commercial substrate and for the treatments that used renewable materials in their composition. The treatment using babassu stem (T1) obtained better shoot dry matter, total dry matter and seedling quality index values, in addition to being a material found in abundance in the regions, making this treatment the most viable and recommended for the production of assai seedlings.

Comparison of Novel Biochars and Steam Activated Carbon from Mixed Conifer Mill Residues

There is increasing demand in environmental remediation and other sectors for specialized sorbents made from renewable materials rather than hard coals and minerals. The proliferation of new pyrolysis technologies to produce bio-based energy, fuels, chemicals, and bioproducts from biomass has left significant gaps in our understanding of how the various carbonaceous materials produced by these systems respond to processes intended to improve their adsorption properties and commercial value. This study used conventional steam activation in an industrial rotary calciner to produce activated carbon (AC) from softwood biochars made by three novel pyrolysis systems. Steam was injected across four heating zones ranging from 816 °C to 927 °C during paired trials conducted at calciner retention times of 45 min and 60 min. The surface area of the three biochars increased from 2.0, 177.3, and 289.1 m2 g−1 to 868.4, 1092.9, and 744.8 m2 g−1, respectively. AC iodine number ranged from 951 to 1218 mg g−1, comparing favorably to commercial AC produced from bituminous coal and coconut shell. The results of this study can be used to operationalize steam activation as a post-processing treatment for biochar and to expand markets for biochar as a precursor in the manufacture of specialized industrial sorbents.

Xerogel-like Materials from Sustainable Sources: Properties and Electrochemical Performances

Energy storage is currently one of the most significant technological challenges globally, and supercapacitor is a prominent candidate over batteries due to its ability for fast charging and long lifetime. Supercapacitors typically use porous carbon as electrodes, because of both the high conductivity and surface area of the material. However, the state-of-the-art porous carbon described in the literature uses toxic chemicals and complex procedures that enhance costs and pollute the environment. Thus, a more sustainable procedure to produce porous carbon is highly desirable. In this context, xerogel-like carbons were prepared by a new, cheap, simple route to polymerization reactions of tannin-formaldehyde in a bio-oil by-product. Using bio-oil in its natural pH allowed a cost reduction and avoided using new reactants to change the reactional medium. Textural properties and electrochemical performances were improved by fast activating the material per 20 min. The non-activated carbon xerogel presented a capacitance of 92 F/g, while the activated one had 132 F/g, given that 77% of the components used are eco-friendly. These results demonstrate that renewable materials may find applications as carbon electrodes for supercapacitors. Overhauling the synthesis route with a different pH or replacing formaldehyde may enhance performance or provide a 100% sustainable carbon electrode.

Polyurethane Foam Composites Reinforced with Renewable Fillers for Cryogenic Insulation

Sawdust, microcellulose and nanocellulose and their silanized forms were used to reinforce rigid polyurethane (PU) foam composites. The concentration of fillers was varied in the range of 0.5–1.5%. For rigid PU foam formulations, three polyols from recycled and renewable materials were used, among other components. Polyols were obtained from rapeseed oil, tall oil fatty acids and recycled polyethylene terephthalate. As rigid PU foam composites in literature have been described as appropriate thermal insulation material, the appliance of obtained composites for cryogenic insulation was investigated by determining the various physical-mechanical properties of composites. The physical-mechanical properties, such as the modulus of elasticity, compressive and tensile strength in both 293 K and 77 K, adhesion measurements with and without cryo-shock, apparent density, thermal conductivity coefficient, and safety coefficient were measured. The results showed that the addition of fillers did not give a significant improvement of characteristics.

Towards a Synthetic Biology Toolset for Metallocluster Enzymes in Biosynthetic Pathways: What We Know and What We Need

Microbes are routinely engineered to synthesize high-value chemicals from renewable materials through synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Microbial biosynthesis often relies on expression of heterologous biosynthetic pathways, i.e., enzymes transplanted from foreign organisms. Metallocluster enzymes are one of the most ubiquitous family of enzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis and are of great biotechnological importance. However, the functional expression of recombinant metallocluster enzymes in live cells is often challenging and represents a major bottleneck. The activity of metallocluster enzymes requires essential supporting pathways, involved in protein maturation, electron supply, and/or enzyme stability. Proper function of these supporting pathways involves specific protein–protein interactions that remain poorly characterized and are often overlooked by traditional synthetic biology approaches. Consequently, engineering approaches that focus on enzymatic expression and carbon flux alone often overlook the particular needs of metallocluster enzymes. This review highlights the biotechnological relevance of metallocluster enzymes and discusses novel synthetic biology strategies to advance their industrial application, with a particular focus on iron-sulfur cluster enzymes. Strategies to enable functional heterologous expression and enhance recombinant metallocluster enzyme activity in industrial hosts include: (1) optimizing specific maturation pathways; (2) improving catalytic stability; and (3) enhancing electron transfer. In addition, we suggest future directions for developing microbial cell factories that rely on metallocluster enzyme catalysis.