Innovative Cereal Bioconversion

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Innovative Cereal Bioconversion
Dr Ruohang Wang Satake Centre for Grain Process
Engineering The University of Manchester
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Satake Centre for Grain Process Engineering

• History
• Following an initiative from the Satake
  Corporation of Japan, the Department of Chemical
  Engineering at UMIST established the UKs first
  Centre for Grain Process Engineering in May 1994.
• Purpose
• To provide, in the context of a major British
  university, a postgraduate teaching and research
  service to the cereal grain processing industries.

Currently the Centre houses three academic staff,
one RF, two PDRA, and nineteen postgraduate
research students.
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Research strategy

• The focus of grain process engineering research
  is on whole processes and unit operations for
  food, feed and non food uses.

• The key research areas of the Centre are

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• Novel Uses of Cereals
• Value-added components and platform chemicals via
  biorefinery
• Functional food (prebiotics, probiotics and
  synbiotics)

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Challenge
As the fossil fuel supply shrinks, essential
petroleum-dependent products are rendered either
unavailable or unaffordable. Economys
improvement is reflected by a increase in energy
consumption (e.g. Chinese oil imports rose by 30
percent last year).
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Opportunity
Whilst renewable energy might come from a variety
of sources, many renewable chemicals must come
through photosynthesis. The most intensive crops
are those based on starch (i.e. cereals). The
oil-based economy might be converted to a
cereal-based economy. Currently, the barrier is
an economic one that can be addressed by process
engineering.
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Current grain bioprocessing
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Novel concept for grain bioconversion
Bioprocessing to glucose-, nitrogen-, and
mineral-rich streams by a single fungal
fermentation
Bacterial yeast fermentation
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Prediction met Facts
Prediction powerful fungal hydrolytic enzymes
would cause the accumulation of small molecular
nutrients in cereal flour suspension.
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Novelty(Simultaneous hydrolysis of major cereal
components)
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A step forward(further application of the
enzymes)
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A discovery(Fungal autolysis)

• Fungal autolysis degrades macromolecular cell
  components to release small molecular nutrients.
• Lysozymes released from fungal cells accelerated
  subsequent autolysis.

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From cereal to a generic fermentation feedstock
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Achievements and further development

• Over 96 of the wheat starch was hydrolysed into
  glucose.
• More than 98 of the phosphorus in wheat was
  released into the medium.
• But only less than 50 of the wheat protein
  nitrogen was converted into free amino nitrogen.

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Further development
A microbial consortium is expected to combine all
required hydrolytic power from various strains of
micro-organisms for better bioconversion of all
wheat components.
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Application of the feedstock(Incubation of
Pediococcus halophilus)
The feedstock contained everything required for
supporting a massive production of 6.6 g l-1 dry
P. halophilus cells.
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Application of the feedstock(ethanol production
by Saccharomyces cerevisiae ? Mr Najmul Arifeen )
Theoretical conversion ratio from glucose to
ethanol 51.1 An actual conversion ratio of
62.5 probably indicated (1) a contribution from
the carbon skeleton of amino acids to ethanol
production (2) co-existence of other fermentable
sugars in the feedstock.
Further improvement is possible if yeast growth
is limited by a larger inoculum size and by
improving the hydrolysis of wheat protein.
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Application of the feedstock(Pigment production
by Monascus purpureus ? Dr Rosa Domínguez )
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Application of the feedstock(PHB production by
Ralstonia eutropha ? Miss Yunji Xu )
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Application of the feedstock(Succinic acid
production by Actinobacillus succiniogenes ? Miss
Carol Lin )
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Other processes

• Sophisticated fractionation, extraction,
  reaction, enhancement and bioconversion for total
  processing
• Agile, versatile, responsive processing
• Food and non-food co-processing