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We evaluated a more practical and cost-effective immobilization carriers for ethanol production using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three candidate materials-rice hull, rice straw, and sawdust-were tested for their cell-adsorption capacity and operational durability. Derivatizations of rice hull, rice straw, and sawdust with the optimal concentration of 0.5 M of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl chloride hydrochloride (DEAE · HCl) resulted in > 95% adsorption of the initial yeast cells at 2 hr for DEAE-rice hull and DEAE-sawdust and in only approximately 80% adsorption for DEAE-rice straw. In addition, DEAE-sawdust was found to be a more practical carrier for immobilizing yeast cells in terms of operational durability in shaking flask cultures with two different speeds of 60 and 150 rpm. Furthermore, the biosorption isotherms of DEAE-rice hull, -rice straw, and -sawdust for yeast cells revealed that the Qmax of DEAE-sawdust (82.6 mg/g) was greater than that of DEAE-rice hull and DEAE-rice straw. During the 404-hr of continuous column reactor operation using yeast cells immobilized on DEAE-sawdust, no serious detachment of the yeast cells from the DEAE-sawdust was recorded. Ethanol yield of approximately 3.04 g/L was produced steadily, and glucose was completely converted to ethanol at a yield of 0.375 g-ethanol/g-glucose (73.4% of the theoretical value). Thus, sawdust is a promising practical immobilization carrier for ethanol production, with significance in the production of bioethanol as a biofuel.

We investigated a novel process for production of ethanol from glycerol using the yeast Pachysolen tannophilus. After optimization of the fermentation medium, repeated-batch flask culture was performed over a period of 378 hr using yeast cells immobilized on Celite. Our results indicated that the use of Celite for immobilization of P. tannophilus was a practical approach for ethanol production from glycerol, and should be suitable for industrial ethanol production.

To optimally convert corn hull, a byproduct from corn processing, into bioethanol using Pachysolen tannophlius, we investigated the optimal conditions for hydrolysis and removal of toxic substances in the hydrolysate via activated carbon treatment as well as the effects of this detoxification process on the kinetic parameters of bioethanol production. Maximum monosaccharide concentrations were obtained in hydrolysates in which 20 g of corn hull was hydrolyzed in 4% (v/v) H2SO4. Activated carbon treatment removed 92.3% of phenolic compounds from the hydrolysate. When untreated hydrolysate was used, the monosaccharides were not completely consumed, even at 480 h of culture. When activated carbon-treated hydrolysate was used, the monosaccharides were mostly consumed at 192 h of culture. In particular, when activated carbon-treated hydrolysate was used, bioethanol productivity (P) and specific bioethanol production rate (Qp) were 2.4 times and 3.4 times greater, respectively, compared to untreated hydrolysate. This was due to sustained bioethanol production during the period of xylose/arabinose utilization, which occurred only when activated carbon-treated hydrolysate was used.

The antifungal effect of pine needle extract prepared by a distinguishable extraction method and the dry distillation method, was examined. The effect of this extract itself was insignificant. The chemical components of pine needle extract were then investigated by gas chromatographic analysis, and four chemical components, acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, were identified. The antifungal effects of those four chemical components against Alternaria mali (A. mali), an agent of Alternaria blotch of apple, were then examined. It was observed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 6.25, 0.78, 0.78, and 12.5 (mg/ml) of acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, respectively. MICs of furfural and 5-methyl furfural had the same order of magnitude as that of an antifungal agrochemical, chlorothalonil. Although furfural itself can not be completely substituted for an antifungal agrochemical, a partial mixture of furfural and antifungal agrochemical may be used as a substitute. The use of agrochemicals for the prevention of plant disease caused by pathogenic fungus such as A. mali could be partially reduced by the application of this mixture.