Papers by Johan Van Groenestijn
Anaerobic digestion 2.1 General principle of the process 2.2 The unit operations of a biogas plan... more Anaerobic digestion 2.1 General principle of the process 2.2 The unit operations of a biogas plant 2.3 Inhibition by citrus fruit peels 3 Decentral digestion of market waste 3.1 Design parameters 3.2 Estimation of the investment costs 3.3 Required land area 4 Central digestion of market waste 4.1 Design parameters 4.2 Economic analysis 5 Conclusions 6 References 4 | Public Wageningen Food & Biobased Research-Report Preface This report is the result of a study caried out as part of the FAO-WUR collaboration project "Support for Modelling, Planning and Improving Dhaka's Food System (DFS)". The project was funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Bangladesh and implemented under an Operational Partner Implementation (OPIM) agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) by the Wageningen University and Research (WUR). FAO was the implementing agency responsible for implementation, oversight, monitoring, and guidance. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of
Azijn-en fosforzuur oplossing Selectieve membraanscheiding Azijnzuur oplossing Fosforzuur oplossi... more Azijn-en fosforzuur oplossing Selectieve membraanscheiding Azijnzuur oplossing Fosforzuur oplossing Bestaande slibverwerking Bestaande afvalwaterzuivering Bermgras(sap) CMA Nouryon Capronzuur Chaincraft Kringlooplandbouw (buiten projectscope) Compound Concentration (g/L) Acetic acid 6.4 Propionic acid 2.3 Vol=310 mL Vol=86 mL Vol=100 mL Vol=400 mL Vol=82 mL
... Companies generally don't consider the competence level of know how and marketing within... more ... Companies generally don't consider the competence level of know how and marketing within the ... biobased products, even when the potential market is large and the strategic importance for ... 30,000 ton (loose fill 25%, compost bags 50%, packaging 8%, paper coating 12%, rest ...
Digesters offer an efficient method to convert manure into energy. The design of existing and new... more Digesters offer an efficient method to convert manure into energy. The design of existing and new digesters is based on robust and proven technology, of which it is known that the economy is only marginal, even with subsidies. In 'Beter (dan) Vergisten' several companies have teamed up with Wageningen Food and Biobased Research (WFBR) to develop new technologies that improve the economy of fermentation processes for manure digesters, by (see figure):
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1988
Cells of the strictly aerobic Acinetobacter strain 210A, containing aerobically large amounts of ... more Cells of the strictly aerobic Acinetobacter strain 210A, containing aerobically large amounts of polyphosphate (100 mg of phosphorus per g [dry weight] of biomass), released in the absence of oxygen 1.49 mmol of P i , 0.77 meq of Mg 2+ , 0.48 meq of K + , 0.02 meq of Ca 2+ , and 0.14 meq of NH 4 + per g (dry weight) of biomass. The drop in pH during this anaerobic phase was caused by the release of 1.8 protons per PO 4 3− molecule. Cells of Acinetobacter strain 132, which do not accumulate polyphosphate aerobically, released only 0.33 mmol of P i and 0.13 meq of Mg 2+ per g (dry weight) of biomass but released K + in amounts comparable to those released by strain 210A. Stationary-phase cultures of Acinetobacter strain 210A, in which polyphosphate could not be detected by Neisser staining, aerobically took up phosphate simultaneously with Mg 2+ , the most important counterion in polyphosphate. In the absence of dissolved phosphate in the medium, no Mg 2+ was taken up. Cells containin...
Manure can be used to produce biogas and the digestate can be fractionated to produce a phosphate... more Manure can be used to produce biogas and the digestate can be fractionated to produce a phosphate fertilizer, potassium fertilizer, an ammonia solution (used in flue gas treatment) and clean water that can be discharged. One more step is the use of the organic compounds from manure for the production of chemical building blocks such as furfural and levulinic acid. Key performance parameters were used to asses these new ideas: the GWP (global warming potential) expressed as kg CO 2-eq. avoided per tonne dry matter and economic efficiency ((product value minus costs)/tonne dry matter). Several proposed biorefinery concepts perform better on these key parameters than the current best practice (anaerobic digestion and post-composting). A large positive effect on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions while improving the economy can be gained by the conversion of SSO and a co-substrate into levulinic acid and furfural. Several waste processing companies are already involved in development of this technology. PHA production does not give a real improvement, however, this may change by technology development in particular in Public Wageningen Food & Biobased Research | 5 recovery/extraction of PHA from the bacterial cells. There is a great chance that the production of caproic acid is much more profitable than anaerobic digestion, but details on the costs are lacking. A drawback is the poor performance in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This may improve by further process development and the use of renewable instead of fossil energy. The biorefinery that combines various waste streams and conversion technologies gives an economically attractive alternative to current practice. The effect on greenhouse gas emissions is low, due to the same problems connected to caproic acid production.
Industrial Biotechnology, 2011
High concentrations of substrate and product are important for the economy of second-generation b... more High concentrations of substrate and product are important for the economy of second-generation bioethanol production. By a dilute acid thermal pretreatment of large pieces of relatively dry wheat straw using a novel rapid heating method, followed by fed-batch preliquefaction with hydrolytic enzymes, a subsequent simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with hydrolytic enzymes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae could be carried at a concentration of 38% (w/w) wheat straw dry matter. One part was preliquefied at 30% dry matter. In this way, 51 g ethanol L-1 was produced. More accessible cellulose was still available for production of yet more ethanol, but the ethanol production was limited by the reversible inactivation of the enzymes and irreversible inactivation of the yeast by high concentrations of toxic compounds in the straw hydrolysate. The production method developed yielded low amounts of by-products, such as furfural, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, levulinic acid, and lactic acid. © Copyright 2011, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Environmental Progress, 1999
Biological techniques are highly cost‐effective for the treatment of off‐gases containing low con... more Biological techniques are highly cost‐effective for the treatment of off‐gases containing low concentrations of pollutants (< 5 g/m3). They may also be attractive for the elimination of higher concentrations of explosive hydrocarbons (when compared to incineration). Conventional techniques such as biofilters have low elimination capacities for hydrophobic compounds caused by a poor mass transfer from the gas to the aqueous phase.To overcome solubility problems, a novel biotrickling filter was developed and is characterized by the use of an organic solvent. In such a biotrickling filter, a mixture of an organic solvent and water is continuously trickled over a packed bed, while the polluted gas passes counter‐current to the liquid. The microorganisms exist on the packing material and in the circulating liquid. The alkanes are absorbed in the oil phase of the liquid, transfer red to the microorganisms and biodegraded.Laboratory‐scale experiments at 201 scale with hexane as a model ...
Environmental Pollution, 2001
In existing biological technologies for waste gas treatment pollutants are transferred to a water... more In existing biological technologies for waste gas treatment pollutants are transferred to a water phase and subsequently biodegraded in a biofilm or suspension of microorganisms. These two processes impose two important prerequisites on biological gas treatment: the pollutants should be readily soluble in water and readily biodegradable. Bioscrubbers, biofilters and biotrickling filters encounter problems with compounds with dimensionless Henry’s Law′s coefficients higher than 1 (e.g., alkenes, alkanes). In addition, the biological treatment of gases with low concentrations of compounds with Henry’s Law′s coefficients higher than 0.1 (e.g., many aromatic hydrocarbons) may be limited by low interphase mass transfer rates (Groenestijn and Hesselink, 1993). Problems with biodegradability can be caused by the fact the compounds need anaerobic conditions for their degradation (e.g., perchloroethylene) or are only aerobically degraded by co-metabolism (e.g., trichloroethylene). Some compounds are in principle biodegradable, but their elimination in biofilters needs long start up periods. It has been reported that elimination of certain organo-sulphur compounds only started 5 months after start up of a biofilter (Cho et al., 1992).
Environmental Pollution, 2001
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2012
Lignocellulosic biomass is a potential feedstock for bioethanol production. Biomass hydrolysates,... more Lignocellulosic biomass is a potential feedstock for bioethanol production. Biomass hydrolysates, prepared with a procedure including pretreatment and hydrolysis, are considered to be used as fermentation media for microorganisms, such as yeast. During the hydrolysate preparation procedure, toxic compounds are released or formed which may inhibit the growth of the microorganism and thus the product formation. To study the effects of these compounds on fermentation performance, the production of various hydrolysates with diverse inhibitory effects is of importance. A platform of methods that generates hydrolysates through four different ways and tests their inhibitory effects using Bioscreen C Analyzer growth tests is described here. The four methods, based on concentrated acid, dilute acid, mild alkaline and alkaline/oxidative conditions, were used to prepare hydrolysates from six different biomass sources. The resulting 24 hydrolysates showed great diversity on growth rate in Biosc...
Novel Biodegradable Microbial Polymers, 1990
Acinetobacter strain 210A accumulates intra-cellularly polyphosphate. Its concentration in the ce... more Acinetobacter strain 210A accumulates intra-cellularly polyphosphate. Its concentration in the cell remains almost constant during all stages of growth. Under optimal conditions up to 36% of the cell’s dry weight consists of phosphate. The amount of polyphosphate in the cells depends on the energy stage of the cell and the phosphate availability. The polyphosphate concentration is highest at low growth rates (0.1 h−1) and low temperatures (<15°C). Polyphosphate can serve as source of energy, cations (in particular magnesium), and of course phosphate. Polyphosphate can be used for ATP generation by the combined action of two enzymes, namely polyphosphate: AMP phosphotransferase and adenylate kinase. In case energy generation is not possible, a certain ATP level is conserved in the cell by polyphosphate degradation. As a consequence, phosphate is released into the medium. When ATP can be formed, by e.g. respiratory processes, phosphate is taken up again and polyphosphate synthezised. Though acinetobacters are strict aerobic organisms, they are enriched in wastewater treatment plants running in anaerobic/aerobic cycles. There, they take up phosphate during the aerobic phase and store it as polyphosphate. Subsequently phosphate is released during “energy starvation” in the anaerobic phase. In treatment plants in which the waste water passes first through an anaerobic and then through an aerobic phase, large amounts of phosphate can be removed by these microorganisms.
Bioengineered Bugs, 2010
I ncreasingly lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates are used as the feedstock for industrial ferme... more I ncreasingly lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates are used as the feedstock for industrial fermentations. These biomass hydrolysates consist of complex mixtures of different fermentable sugars, but also contain inhibitors and salts that affect the performance of the productgenerating microbes. The performance of six industrially relevant microorganisms, i.e., two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum), two yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis) and two fungi (Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei) were compared for their ability to utilize and grow on different feedstock hydrolysates (corn stover, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse and willow wood). Moreover, the ability of the selected hosts to utilize waste glycerol from the biodiesel industry was evaluated. P. stipitis and A. niger were found to be the most versatile and C. glutamicum, and S. cerevisiae were shown to be the least adapted to renewable feedstocks. Clear differences in the utilization of the more abundant carbon sources in these feedstocks were observed between the different species. Moreover, in a species-specific way the production of various metabolites, in particular polyols, alcohols and organic acids was observed during fermentation. Based on the results obtained we conclude that a substrate-oriented instead of the more commonly used product oriented approach towards the selection of a microbial production host will avoid the requirement for extensive metabolic engineering. Instead of introducing multiple Microbial renewable feedstock utilization
Voor een wetenschapper met een achternaam van vier lettergrepen waarin 'oe' en 'ij' voorkomen zal... more Voor een wetenschapper met een achternaam van vier lettergrepen waarin 'oe' en 'ij' voorkomen zal internationale bekendheid niet snel zijn weggelegd. Stellingen behorende bij het proefschrift "Accumulation and degradation of polyphosphate in Acinetobacter sp." van J.W. van Groenestijn. Wageningen, 17 juni 1988 VOORWOORD Voordat u in dit proefschrift gaat lezen moet u beseffen dat de verschillende activiteiten die hebben geleid tot de totstandkoming van dit boek niet het werk is geweest van een enkeling, de auteur, maar in grote mate ondersteund zijn geweest door anderen. Deze mensen wil ik hier bedanken: Prof. Zehnder en Mia Deinema voor het mogelijk maken van dit onderzoek, voor nun wetenschappelijke begeleiding, het kritisch doorlezen van het manuscript en hun stimulerende invloed.
Bioreactors and Bioenergy, 2013
Water Science and Technology, 1996
Poor denitrification in a Pasveeer oxidation ditch is attributed to a lack of carbon sources avai... more Poor denitrification in a Pasveeer oxidation ditch is attributed to a lack of carbon sources available in the anoxic zone as it is essential to maintain a high C/N ratio for denitrification. Influent of sewage directly into the anoxic zone is not useful to maintain a high C/N ratio. The adsorptive capacity of activated sludge can rapidly increase the C/N ratio. Similar to a contact-stabilization process, a contact tank can be combined with the Pasveer ditch; it provides contact time (zone) between raw sewage and return sludge before entering the ditch. In principle, insoluble organic substrate can be easily adsorbed onto the floc surfaces and enmeshed in the floc structure at a short retention time. After the contact, mixed influent is introduced into the anoxic zone. As a result, a high C/N ratio is obtained which enhances denitrification. Using this set up, the Pasveer ditch was operated. The experimental results show that the efficiency of denitrification has been enhanced from 45 to 83% for NO−3-N removal. The corresponding denitrification capacity of the sludge is increased by 240%. The contact tank has also the same principle as a ‘selector’ to control bulking sludge caused by filamentous bacteria. The SVI data and microscopic examination indicated improved settleability of the sludge. Further enhancement of denitrification needs an exact control of the dissolved oxygen level in the ditch and/or a concentration increase of denitrifying microorganisms.
Microbial Cell Factories, 2009
Background Increasingly lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates are used as the feedstock for indust... more Background Increasingly lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates are used as the feedstock for industrial fermentations. These biomass hydrolysates are complex mixtures of different fermentable sugars, but also inhibitors and salts that affect the performance of the microbial production host. The performance of six industrially relevant microorganisms, i.e. two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum), two yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia stipitis) and two fungi (Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei) were compared for their (i) ability to utilize monosaccharides present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, (ii) resistance against inhibitors present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, (iii) their ability to utilize and grow on different feedstock hydrolysates (corn stover, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse and willow wood). The feedstock hydrolysates were generated in two manners: (i) thermal pretreatment under mild acid conditions followed by enzymatic hydrolysis...
Uploads
Papers by Johan Van Groenestijn