Bioresource Technology: Contents Lists Available at
Bioresource Technology: Contents Lists Available at
Bioresource Technology: Contents Lists Available at
Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech
G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T
A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The aim was to produce bioethanol by the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of Spirulina sp.
Biorefinery LEB 18 biomass and corn starch, increasing the process scale and obtaining biopeptides from bioethanol residue.
Bioethanol Different temperatures of SSF and biomass/starch concentrations were tested, and the best conditions were
Biopeptides chosen to scale-up the bioethanol production. The biopeptides were obtained enzymatically with a protease. The
Antioxidant capacity
antioxidant capacity, molecular structure, thermal stability and mass loss of the biopeptides were evaluated. A
Microalgae
total of 73 g L−1 bioethanol was obtained during scale-up, and the residue presented a high protein content with
a degree of hydrolysis of 86%. The biopeptides showed 32% ABTS radical inhibition with high thermal stability.
This study showed the possibility of the biorefinery concept being able to produce bioethanol by Spirulina, and
the biopeptides from the bioethanol residue presented high antioxidant capacity and can be used in many areas
of the food industry.
⁎
Corresponding author at: Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, 96203-900 Rio
Grande, RS, Brazil.
E-mail address: jorgealbertovc@gmail.com (J.A.V. Costa).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122698
Received 31 October 2019; Received in revised form 23 December 2019; Accepted 24 December 2019
Available online 27 December 2019
0960-8524/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Luiza Astolfi, et al. Bioresource Technology 301 (2020) 122698
2.1. Microorganism and biomass characterization A concentration of 20% (m v−1) biomass was used for the enzy-
matic SSF. Corn starch was added as a source of nutrients and carbo-
Spirulina sp. LEB 18 biomass was studied, and the microalga was hydrates during the fermentation of Spirulina sp. The substrates were
cultivated on a pilot scale in Santa Vitória do Palmar (Brazil, 33° 30′ 13″ prehydrolyzed with the α-amylase enzyme for 2 h at 50 °C, after which
S and 53° 08′ 59″ W) in raceway open PVC tanks located in a green- the amyloglucosidase enzyme was added at different temperatures, as
house with daytime sunlight of ~300 µmolphotons m−2s−1, average shown in Table 1.
temperature of 25 °C and using Zarrouk medium (Zarrouk, 1966). The
dry biomass of Spirulina sp. was ground in a ball mill (Model Q298, 2.4.1. Scale-up for bioethanol production
QUIMIS) to obtain the granulometry 40 mesh. The scale-up for bioethanol production was carried out in a Tec Bio
The protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents in the biomass were Flex bioreactor (3 L) with the best conditions obtained from previous
determined. The protein content was obtained according to Lowry et al. tests. The parameters of pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature and
(1951); the carbohydrate content was determined by the phenol-sul- agitation were controlled during the SSF process. A total of 0.25 (v v−1)
furic method (Dubois et al., 1956), and the lipid content was de- of each amylolytic enzyme was added to make the process viable on
termined according to the method of Folch (Folch and Lees, 1957) with larger scales.
chloroform/methanol (2:1 v v−1). Samples were collected at time zero and after 2 h and 12 h of pre-
hydrolysis to determine the RS and ethanol concentrations, and the
2.2. Enzymes assays were complete after 60 h of SSF. The residue was separated by
centrifugation at 3640×g for 15 min.
The α-amylase (Liquozyme® Supra 2.2X) enzyme obtained from The bioethanol production by SSF was evaluated by the
Table 1
Variation in the corn starch, Spirulina sp. LEB 18 biomass and temperatures tested, hydrolysis efficiency (PHE) after 2 h and SSF ethanol efficiency (η).
Assay Corn starch (%) Spirulina biomass (%) Temperature (°C) Carbohydrate (g Cho L−1) PHE (%) η (%)
Means ± standard deviation (n = 2). Different letters in the same column show significant differences at the 95% confidence level.
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A. Luiza Astolfi, et al. Bioresource Technology 301 (2020) 122698
prehydrolysis efficiency (PHE) and ethanol formation efficiency (ƞ). 2.6.3. Protein profile (SDS-PAGE)
AR2h
The PHE was obtained by the equation PHE (%) = m C . (1.1)
,where Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was performed according to the
⎛ biomass ⎞
⎝ v ⎠ method of Laemmli (1970). Electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate
AR2h corresponds to the RS concentration obtained after hydrolysis (g (SDS) polyacrylamide gel was carried out in a continuous buffer system:
L−1), m is the amount of biomass utilized (g L−1), C is the carbohydrate 1.5 mol L−1 Tris buffer and 10% SDS (w v−1). The gel was prepared
content in SSF (g L−1), 1.1 is the conversion number of carbohydrates with 15% separation and 12% concentration. After the electrophoretic
to glucose and v is the working volume. The ethanol formation effi- analysis, the gel was removed from the apparatus and placed in staining
ΔE
ciency (ƞ) was obtained according to equation η (\% ) = 0.511 . C . (1.1) , solution for 2 h under constant agitation. A mixture of proteins ranging
where ΔE is the variation in the ethanol concentration (g L−1), C is the from 5 to 250 kDa was used as a reference.
carbohydrate content in SSF (g L−1) and 1.1 is the conversion number
of carbohydrates to glucose (Hang et al., 1981). 2.7. Statistical analysis
2.5. Protein hydrolysis The data were assessed by analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s
test at the 95.0% confidence level.
The hydrolysates were obtained with 15.4 g of residue in 100 mL of
bicarbonate-sodium carbonate buffer (pH 9.5) and 5 U mL−1 of the 3. Results and discussion
protease enzyme. All assays were arranged in an orbital incubator at
180 rpm and a temperature of 60 °C in duplicate. After the reaction, the 3.1. Chemical characterization of Spirulina biomass
enzyme was thermally inactivated at 85 °C for 10 min (Lisboa et al.,
2014). The Spirulina sp. LEB 18 biomass presented 74.5% protein content,
To determine the degree of hydrolysis (DH), 1 mL aliquots of hy- 11.2% carbohydrate content, 2.9% lipids and 14.1% ash. The biomass
drolysate were inactivated with 9 mL of 6.25% (w v−1) trichloroacetic used in this study had low carbohydrate contents because the main
acid (TCA) solution for 10 min (Lisboa et al., 2016). After that, the objective of the crop was not to accumulate carbohydrates in the bio-
samples were centrifuged for 5 min at 3300×g to remove the insoluble mass, which influences the bioethanol yield. In this sense, the addition
material precipitated by TCA. The soluble protein content of the su- of corn starch in our study became relevant for the production of
pernatant was determined using the Folin-Lowry method (Lowry et al., bioethanol by the SSF process.
1951), and the results are expressed as mgalbumin.
The DH was determined each hour for 8 h total, estimated according 3.2. SSF using the biomass of Spirulina sp. for bioethanol production
to the method described by Hoyle and Merritt (1994) with modifica-
tions, and expressed as the amount of soluble protein in the TCA before Fig. 1 presents the results of the bioethanol and RS concentrations
and after the addition of the enzyme related to the amount of total obtained during 72 h of the SSF process at two different temperatures
protein present in the sample according to the equation (30 °C and 40 °C). According to the results shown in Fig. 1, the higher
the amount of carbohydrates in the culture medium, the higher the RS
%DH = (
PSt − PSt0
Pt )
. 100 . Here, PSt is the amount of soluble protein at a
concentrations after 2 h of prehydrolysis due to the carbohydrate source
given time after the addition of the enzyme, PSt0 corresponds to the
being higher and the α-amylase enzyme acting at its optimum tem-
amount of protein soluble in 6.25% TCA before the enzymatic addition,
perature (50 °C).
and Pt is the amount of total protein in the sample determined by the
As the corn starch and the microalgal starch were saccharified, S.
micro-Kjeldahl method (N = 6.25) (AOAC, 2005).
cerevisiae yeast cells were in their exponential phase of growth, and at
the optimum temperature (30 °C), the yeast cells used the RS for their
2.6. Biopeptide characterization own growth and ethanol production (Fig. 1a–c). This characteristic of
SSF presents advantages compared to the separate saccharification and
2.6.1. Antioxidant activity fermentation processes since these processes have high glucose con-
The biopeptides produced were characterized according to their centrations and may inhibit bioethanol fermentation during the process
antioxidant capacity with the ABTS method. The ABTS cationic radical (Eklund and Zacchi, 1995).
was prepared from a solution of 7 mmol L−1 ABTS (2,2′-azinobis(3- Inoculation of the yeast caused a reduction in the RS concentration
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) with a potassium persulfate so- at 12 h, reaching close to zero in the assays at 30 °C (Fig. 1a–c). Singh
lution (2.45 mmol L−1) (Re et al., 1999). The resulting absorbance of et al. (2018) observed a similar trend during the SSF of Chlorella sp., in
the solution was measured at 734 nm with a spectrophotometer which the RS concentration decreased at 12 h, and at the end of the
(Biospectrometer Eppendorf 6136). The percent ABTS radical inhibition process, 98.8% of the RS had been consumed. The tests performed with
was calculated from the following equation 5% starch + 15% Spirulina (Fig. 1a) and 10% starch + 10% Spirulina
(Fig. 1b) did not show a significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) in their in-
ABSblank − ABSsample ⎞ crease in bioethanol production since in these assays, the concentration
% inhibition = ⎛ ⎜ . 100.
⎟
⎝ ABSblank ⎠ of RS remained constant until the end of the SSF process (72 h). For the
assay with a higher corn starch concentration (Fig. 1c), a significant
difference (p ≤ 0.05) in bioethanol concentration was observed during
2.6.2. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) the 72 of the SSF process, achieving a maximum of 64.4 g L−1 at 60 h.
The molecular structure, thermal stability by differential scanning The assay with the highest bioethanol production was the SSF with 15%
calorimetry (DSC) and mass loss by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) corn starch and 5% Spirulina sp. biomass (Fig. 1c), showing 73.6%
parameters of protein hydrolysate samples, bioethanol production re- conversion efficiency, since this assay contained the highest carbohy-
sidue and Spirulina sp. biomass were analyzed by Fourier transform drate concentration and was carried out at 30 °C, benefiting yeast de-
infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to evaluate the differences in the func- velopment and product formation.
tional groups present in the biomass of Spirulina sp. The samples were For the assays carried out at 40 °C (Fig. 1d–f), the RS concentrations
pressed onto a Zn-Se crystal, and the transmittance was recorded in the after 12 h were higher than those from the assays at 30 °C, independent
range of 4000 to 650 cm−1 (Agilent model Cary 630). The thermo- of the corn starch and Spirulina biomass concentrations used. The RS
gravimetric and calorimetric curves were obtained in a thermal analysis values obtained in these assays may be related to the temperature tested
simulator (STA 6000, Perkin Elmer). (40 °C), which is not the optimum temperature for the yeast but is
3
A. Luiza Astolfi, et al. Bioresource Technology 301 (2020) 122698
Fig. 1. Profile of bioethanol and RS concentrations during the SSF process with different concentrations of Spirulina sp. biomass and corn starch: (A) 5%
starch + 15% Spirulina, (B) 10% starch + 10% Spirulina and (B) 15% starch + 5% Spirulina at a temperature of 30 °C; and (D) 5% starch + 15% Spirulina, (E) 10%
starch + 10% Spirulina and (F) 15% starch + 5% Spirulina at 40 °C.
closer to the optimum temperature for the action of the amylolytic 3.3. Scale-up for bioethanol production
enzymes (50 °C). In the assays with 10% starch + 10% Spirulina
(Fig. 1e) and 15% starch + 5% Spirulina (Fig. 1f), the bioethanol pro- The scale-up was conducted based on the best conditions obtained
duction increased gradually during the process; however, the bioe- in Erlenmeyer flasks from SSF, which was assay 3 with 15% of corn
thanol production was lower than that in the assays at 30 °C. starch and 5% of Spirulina biomass at 30 °C. The SSF values in the
Table 1 presents the prehydrolysis efficiency (PHE) after 2 h and bioreactor are presented in Fig. 2. Two hours of prehydrolysis produced
bioethanol efficiency (ƞ) for all conditions evaluated. According to the 55 g L−1 of ethanol and a RS concentration of 70 g L−1. The pre-
results, there was no significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) between the hydrolysis efficiency of the SSF in the bioreactor was 40.2%, and the
assays with the same corn starch and Spirulina biomass concentrations ethanol efficiency was 62.9%.
(assays 1, 2 and 3 at 30 °C and assays 4, 5 and 6 at 40 °C), and when The ethanol and prehydrolysis efficiencies obtained from the bior-
testing at different temperatures, the temperature did not affect the two eactor and in the Erlenmeyer flasks were similar, indicating that the 10-
parameters evaluated. fold increase in scale did not change the SSF parameters evaluated. It
The highest (p ≤ 0.05) PHE obtained was from the assays with 15% was observed in this study that 24 h of SSF was sufficient to obtain high
corn starch and 5% Spirulina biomass at 30 °C (56.3%) and 40 °C yields of bioethanol since the bioethanol production did not change
(58.4%). The highest bioethanol efficiency obtained in this study was significantly (p ≥ 0.05) compared to the other times evaluated during
73.6%, which was obtained from assay 3. In addition, the biomass of SSF in the bioreactor. In this sense, SSF presented as a good process for
Spirulina sp., presenting a source of carbon, provides sufficient nutrients the production of bioethanol on a large scale since the product is pro-
available for the yeast during the fermentation process, as evidenced by duced in a single bioreactor, reducing costs associated with bioreactors,
the studies by Rempel et al. (2018). time and concentration of the enzyme.
4
A. Luiza Astolfi, et al. Bioresource Technology 301 (2020) 122698
3.5. SDS-PAGE
Fig. 3. Correlation between the antioxidant potential and the degree of hy- The SDS-PAGE analysis of the Spirulina sp. biomass, residue and
drolysis. biopeptides are presented in Fig. 4, and a decrease in the molecular
5
A. Luiza Astolfi, et al. Bioresource Technology 301 (2020) 122698
Acknowledgments
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