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Lignin is a rich renewable aromatic resource that can produce high-value-added chemicals. Lignin is regarded as one of the three major components of lignocellulosic biomass, which is composed of phenylpropane units connected by CO bond and CC bond. The cleavage of two chemical bonds is the main catalytic pathway in the production of chemicals and fuels from lignin. Although the cleavage of CO converts lignin into valuable aromatic compounds and renewable carbon sources, selective depolymerization for CC bonds is an important method to increase the yield of aromatic monomers. Therefore, in this review, we summarized the latest research trends on CC bond selective cleavage in lignin and lignin model compounds, focusing on various catalytic systems, including hydrogenolysis, oxidate, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis. By analyzing the current status of CC bond breakage, the core issues and challenges related to this process and the expectations for future research were emphasized.

Abstract High conversion rate and selectivity are challenges for CO2 utilization through catalytic reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction. Herein, a novel mesoporous biochar (MB) supported Cu-Mo2C nano-interface was prepared by consecutive physical activation of coconut shells followed by carbothermal hydrogen reduction of bimetal. As compared with traditional carbon materials, this MB exhibited ultra-high specific surface area (2693 m2 g–1) and mesopore volume of mesopore (0.81 cm3 g–1) with a narrow distribution (2–5 nm), responsible for the high dispersion of binary Cu-Mo2C sites, CO2 adsorption and mass transfer in the reaction system. Moderate carbothermal reduction led to the sufficient reduction of Mo ion with carbon matrix of MB and dispersive growth of nano Cu-Mo2C binary sites (~ 6.1 nm) on the surface of MB. Cu+ species were formed from Cu0 via electron transfer and showed high dispersion with simultaneous boosted bimetal loading due to the strong interaction between nano Mo2C and Cu. These were advantageous to the intrinsic activity and stability of the Cu-Mo2C binary sites and their accessibility to the reactant molecules. Under the RWGS reaction conditions of 500 °C, atmospheric pressure, and 300,000 ml/g/h gas hour space velocity, the CO2 conversion rate over Cu-Mo2C/MB reached 27.74 × 10–5 molCO2/gcat/s at very low H2 partial pressure, which was more than twice that over traditional carbon supported Cu-Mo2C catalysts. In addition, this catalyst exhibited 99.08% CO selectivity and high stability for more than 50 h without a decrease in activity and selectivity. This study offers a new development strategy and a promising candidate for industrial RWGS. Graphical Abstract

Converting carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is an attractive and promising route for value-added utilization of agricultural and forestry biomass resource. As an important platform compound, 5-HMF possesses high active furan structure with hydroxymethyl and aldehyde group for production of various bio-chemicals and materials, meanwhile, which suffer from low stability and poor yield during the industrial biorefinery process. Hence, selective production of 5-HMF with high-yield and low-cost has attracted extensive attention from scientific and industrial researchers. This review sorted and described the latest advanced research on solvent and catalyst system, as well as energy field effect for production of 5-HMF with different feedstock in detail, emphatically discussing the solvent effect and its synergistic effect with other aspects. Besides, the future prospects and challenges for production of 5-HMF from carbohydrates were also presented, which provide a profound insight into industrial 5-HMF process with economic and environmental feature.

Ethyl levulinate (EL) is a key biomass-derived compounds due to its socio-economic benefits for the synthesis of commodity chemicals. Herein, we proposed an efficient one-step bamboo conversion to EL in ethanol, and a novel stepwise fractionation to purify EL and lignocellulose degradation products. A proton acid, due to its high catalytic efficiency, yielded 26.65 % EL in 120 min at 200 °C. The productions of ethyl glucoside and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural were analyzed in terms of by-products formation. To the best of our knowledge, there is no single report on catalyst for one step synthesis of EL directly from bamboo, as well as a stepwise fractionation to purify EL. Due to similar physiochemical properties in each fraction, the platform molecules could broaden a new paradigm of bamboo biomass utilization for renewable energy and value-added biochemicals. In addition, glucose, ethyl glucoside, corn starch, and microcrystalline cellulose were also investigated as substrates, so that the reaction intermediates of this one-pot procedure were identified and a possible reaction mechanism was proposed.

Abstract The Boudouard reaction presents promising application prospects as a straightforward and efficient method for CO2 conversion. However, its advancement is hindered primarily by elevated activation energy and a diminished conversion rate. This study employed a microwave reactor with a variable frequency as the initial approach to catalyze the CO2 Boudouard reaction over biochar, with the primary objective of producing renewable CO. The study systematically investigated the influence of various variables, including the heating source, microwave frequency, microwave power, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and carrier gas, on the conversion of CO2 and the selectivity towards CO. The experimental findings indicate that under static conditions, with a fixed microwave frequency set at 2450 MHz and 100 W microwave power, the Boudouard reaction did not initiate. Conversely, a CO2 conversion rate of 8.8% was achieved when utilizing a microwave frequency of 4225 MHz. Under this unique frequency, further elevating the microwave power to 275 W leads to the complete conversion of CO2. Furthermore, a comparative analysis between microwave and electrical heating revealed that the CO production rate was 37.7 μmol kJ−1 for microwave heating, in stark contrast to the considerably lower rate of 0.2 μmol kJ−1 observed for electric heating. Following the reaction, the biochar retained its robust 3D skeleton structure and abundant pore configuration. Notably, the dielectric constant increased by a factor of 1.8 compared to its initial state, rendering it a promising microwave-absorbing material. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Biomass‐derived carbon is a promising electrode material in energy storage devices. However, how to improve its low capacity and stability, and slow diffusion kinetics during lithium storage remains a challenge. In this research, we propose a “self‐assembly‐template” method to prepare B, N codoped porous carbon (BN‐C) with a nanosandwich structure and abundant pyridinic N‐B species. The nanosandwich structure can increase powder density and cycle stability by constructing a stable solid electrolyte interphase film, shortening the Li+ diffusion pathway, and accommodating volume expansion during repeated charging/discharging. The abundant pyridinic N‐B species can simultaneously promote the adsorption/desorption of Li+/PF6− and reduce the diffusion barrier. The BN‐C electrode showed a high lithium‐ion storage capacity of above 1140 mAh g−1 at 0.05 A g−1 and superior stability (96.5% retained after 2000 cycles). Moreover, owing to the synergistic effect of the nanosandwich structure and pyridinic N‐B species, the assembled symmetrical BN‐C//BN‐C full cell shows a high energy density of 234.7 W h kg−1, high power density of 39.38 kW kg−1, and excellent cycling stability, superior to most of the other cells reported in the literature. As the density functional theory simulation demonstrated, pyridinic N‐B shows enhanced adsorption activity for Li+ and PF6−, which promotes an increase in the capacity of the anode and cathode, respectively. Meanwhile, the relatively lower diffusion barrier of pyridinic N‐B promotes Li+ migration, resulting in good rate performance. Therefore, this study provides a new approach for the synergistic modulation of a nanostructure and an active site simultaneously to fabricate the carbon electrode material in energy storage devices.

The direct feeding value of distillers grains is low due to the presence of higher cellulose, lignin and anti-nutritional factors such as mannan and xylan. In this study, complex enzymes and probiotic flora based on “probiotic enzyme synergy” technology were used to produce fermented distillers grains. The optimal substrate ratio, moisture content, fermentation time and temperature were determined. Subsequently, scale-up experiments were conducted to determine the performance of fermented feed. The results showed that multi-probiotic (Lactobacillus casei, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus oryzae) cooperated with complex enzymes (glucanase, mannanase, xylanase) showed excellent fermentation effect, crude protein, trichloroacetic acid soluble protein and fat increased by 31.25, 36.68, and 49.11% respectively, while crude fiber, acidic fiber and neutral fiber decreased by 34.24, 26.91, and 33.20%, respectively. The anti-nutritional factors mannan and arabinoxylan were reduced by 26.96 and 40.87%, respectively. Lactic acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid in the fermented organic acids increased by 240.93, 76.77, and 89.47%, respectively. Butyric acid increased significantly from scratch, and the mycotoxin degradation effect was not significant. This study provides a potential approach for high-value utilization of distillers grains.

Abstract The shortage and unevenness of fossil energy sources are affecting the development and progress of human civilization. The technology of efficiently converting material resources into energy for utilization and storage is attracting the attention of researchers. Environmentally friendly biomass materials are a treasure to drive the development of new‐generation energy sources. Electrochemical theory is used to efficiently convert the chemical energy of chemical substances into electrical energy. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of green and economical electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Although many reviews have been reported around the application of biomass‐derived catalytically active carbon (CAC) catalysts in ORR, these reviews have only selected a single/partial topic (including synthesis and preparation of catalysts from different sources, structural optimization, or performance enhancement methods based on CAC catalysts, and application of biomass‐derived CACs) for discussion. There is no review that systematically addresses the latest progress in the synthesis, performance enhancement, and applications related to biomass‐derived CAC‐based oxygen reduction electrocatalysts synchronously. This review fills the gap by providing a timely and comprehensive review and summary from the following sections: the exposition of the basic catalytic principles of ORR, the summary of the chemical composition and structural properties of various types of biomass, the analysis of traditional and the latest popular biomass‐derived CAC synthesis methods and optimization strategies, and the summary of the practical applications of biomass‐derived CAC‐based oxidative reduction electrocatalysts. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the latest advances to provide research directions and design ideas for the development of catalyst synthesis/optimization and contributes to the industrialization of biomass‐derived CAC electrocatalysis and electric energy storage.

As knowledge graphs (KGs) become more widely used in various applications, error detection for KGs has received more attention, which can reduce quality issues such as errors and inconsistencies. With the development of representation learning, embedding-based methods have significantly improved error detection performance. The recent error detection algorithm uses KG structural embedding loss and constructs a reasonable score function, ranking the confidence scores for each triplet. However, these methods ignore the factual semantics of the triplet itself, which primarily exist in the entities and relations descriptions text. Therefore, we propose Semantic and Structural Integrated Contrastive Learning(SeSICL) to simultaneously capture graph structural patterns and deep semantic features from descriptions text. Our method is based on contrastive learning without data augmentation, which utilizes encoder perturbations to generate contrasting views, making SeSICL highly suitable for complex error detection tasks and robust against real-world noise. We evaluate SeSICL on three baseline datasets with abnormal data and fluctuations. SeSICL outperforms the previous state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating our method’s performance and robustness in more complex scenarios.

This paper presents Integrated Semantics-Structure Analysis in Knowledge Graph Completion (ISA-KGC), a new framework for Knowledge Graph Completion (KGC) aimed at addressing the incompleteness of knowledge graphs (KGs). ISA-KGC integrates Graph Neural Networks (GNN) with Transformer-based models, effectively blending structural and semantic information within Knowledge Graphs. This fusion enhances comprehension of KGs beyond what traditional methods offer. The framework utilizes Knowledge Graph Embedding (KGE) models, with GNN employed to augment these models, thus enhancing the overall analysis and interpretation of Knowledge Graphs. The effectiveness of ISA-KGC is validated through benchmark datasets FB15K-237 and WN18RR, showing notable improvements in performance metrics like hit@10 compared to existing methods.

Abstract Feedstock properties play a crucial role in thermal conversion processes, where understanding the influence of these properties on treatment performance is essential for optimizing both feedstock selection and the overall process. In this study, a series of van Krevelen diagrams were generated to illustrate the impact of H/C and O/C ratios of feedstock on the products obtained from six commonly used thermal conversion techniques: torrefaction, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrothermal liquefaction, hydrothermal gasification, pyrolysis, and gasification. Machine learning methods were employed, utilizing data, methods, and results from corresponding studies in this field. Furthermore, the reliability of the constructed van Krevelen diagrams was analyzed to assess their dependability. The van Krevelen diagrams developed in this work systematically provide visual representations of the relationships between feedstock and products in thermal conversion processes, thereby aiding in optimizing the selection of feedstock and the choice of thermal conversion technique.

This study focused on developing an effective cell wall-breaking method for Phaffia rhodozyma, followed by utilizing subcritical fluid extraction to isolate, extract, and concentrate astaxanthin from the complex fermentation products of P. rhodozyma. A comprehensive comparison of seven distinct methods for disrupting cell walls, including dimethyl sulfoxide treatment, lactic acid treatment, sodium hydroxide treatment, β-glucanase enzymatic digestion, β-mannanase enzymatic digestion, and a combined enzymatic treatment involving both β-mannanase and β-glucanase was conducted. The results identified the lactic acid method as the most effective in disrupting the cell walls of P. rhodozyma. The software, Design Expert, was used in the process of extracting astaxanthin from cell lysates using a subcritical extraction method. Through fitting analysis and response surface optimization analysis by Design Expert, the optimal extraction conditions were determined as follows: an extraction temperature of 41 °C, extraction frequency of two times, and extraction time of 46 min. These parameters facilitated the efficient extraction, concentration, and enrichment of astaxanthin from P. rhodozyma, resulting in an astaxanthin concentration of 540.00 mg/L. This result can establish the foundation for its high-value applications.

Summary: Titanium silicate zeolite (TS-1) is widely used in the research on selective oxidations of organic substrates by H2O2. Compared with the chlorohydrin process and the hydroperoxidation process, the TS-1 catalyzed hydroperoxide epoxidation of propylene oxide (HPPO) has advantages in terms of by-products and environmental friendliness. This article reviews the latest progress in propylene epoxidation catalyzed by TS-1, including the HPPO process and gas phase epoxidation. The preparation and modification of TS-1 for green and sustainable production are summarized, including the use of low-cost feedstocks, the development of synthetic routes, strategies to enhance mass transfer in TS-1 crystal and the enhancement of catalytic performance after modification. In particular, this article summarizes the catalytic mechanisms and advanced characterization techniques for propylene epoxidation in recent years. Finally, the present situation, development prospect and challenge of propylene epoxidation catalyzed by TS-1 were prospected.

Highlights A class of hydrogel electrolytes that couple high adhesion and anti-freezing properties is developed. Zn/Li hybrid capacitors based on the hydrogel electrolyte can tolerate low temperatures and accommodate dynamic deformations across a temperature range of 25 to − 60 °C. This work highlights an advancement for promoting next-generation energy storage system with low-temperature capability and mechanical durability.

Abstract Expanding the application scenarios of wood-derived biochar guided by the conversion of traditional energy to new energy shows great promise as a field. As thrilling energy conversion apparatus, zinc-air batteries (ZABs) require cathode catalysts with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities and stability. Herein, two-dimensional nickel-iron hydroxide nanosheets were creatively assembled in N-doped wood-derived biochar (NiFe-LDH@NC) by an in-situ growth method. The categorized porous organization in wood-derived biochar facilitates the rapid seepage of electrolytes and rapid diffusion of reaction gases. The unique interfacial structure of biochar and NiFe-LDH accelerates electron transfer during oxygen electrocatalysis, and endows NiFe-LDH@NC with first-class catalytic activity and durability for ORR and OER. The ZAB derived from NiFe-LDH@NC showed elevated discharge productivity and cycle endurance, making it promising for viable applications. This work provided a convenient way for the conversion of wood-derived biochar to high-value added electrocatalysts. Graphical Abstract

Abstract The structural reconstruction mechanism of lignin and cellulose-derived biochars during direct graphitization under ultra-high temperatures was intensively investigated. It was demonstrated that cellulose-derived char was almost composed of carbon microcrystallites, whereas lignin-derived char reserved some of its skeleton structures, and such structural difference played a vital role in the morphology of formed graphitic layers. The results illustrated that the graphitized lignin-derived sample under 2800 ℃ had graphitic degree of 89.53%, interlayer spacing of 0.3363 nm and electronic conductivity of 104.6 S cm−1, while cellulose-derived sample had graphitic degree of 76.74%, layer distance of 0.3374 nm, and electronic conductivity of only 48.8 S cm−1. Combined with the results of structural analysis of the chars derived from lignin and cellulose, it was inferred that the stable and aromatic ring containing skeleton structure in lignin was beneficial to the ring-enlarging reconstruction and the formation of large areas of continuous graphitic layers during graphitizing process, leading to high electronic conductivity. Meanwhile, the interwoven microcrystallites in cellulose-derived char strongly restricted the expanding of continuous lamellar graphitic areas even at such ultra-high temperature, causing the formation of turbostratic structure with numerous structural defects as well, and finally resulting in relatively lower electronic conductivity. This work is expected to provide theoretical guidance for preparing high-performance functional carbon materials from lignocellulosic biomass. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Resource‐ and energy‐efficient biomass exploitation for green graphite production is one of the most effective strategies for satisfying graphite demand while minimizing energy consumption and carbon emissions. This study investigated green graphite production from biomass waste and its applications to establish a green graphite industry. Biomass pyrolysis and catalytic graphitization of biochar were studied first to produce green graphite. The optimized green graphite exhibited a reversible capacity of 264 mA h/g and 97% capacity retention over 100 cycles in a half‐cell. Green graphite electrodes with a resistivity lower than 5 μΩ m were fabricated by using organic fraction bio‐oil as a green binder. Other green graphite applications, including printing, conductive printing, pencils, and refractories, were also achieved. The overall process of graphite anode and electrode synthesis from biomass waste and short‐rotation energy crops was modeled. Approx. 95 kg of battery graphite or 109 kg of metallurgical graphite electrodes can be produced per ton of biomass with low primary energy consumption and carbon footprint. Prominently, the modeling result and life cycle assessment demonstrated that, for the production of battery graphite from biomass waste, net‐negative‐CO2 emissions (−0.57 kg CO2‐eq/kg graphite powders) with net‐negative‐primary energy consumption (−28.31 MJ/kg graphite powders) was achieved.

Anaerobic digestion presents a viable approach for managing biodegradable waste. However, the process generates a significant amount of digestate, which, if not appropriately managed, can contribute to eutrophication and salinization. This research explores the integration of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and pyrolysis as a potential solution for digestate management, emphasizing volume reduction and energy recovery. The study specifically focuses on the production of biochar from agricultural waste digestate (AWD) in an energy-efficient manner. Utilizing HTC as a pretreatment was found to enhance the heating value of both the AWD and the subsequent pyrolytic char, and it also improved the carbonization degree of the resulting char. Energy balance analysis revealed that the pyrolysis of AWD shifted from an endothermic to an exothermic reaction upon HTC pretreatment. This transition decreased the reaction's energy absorption from 41.1 to 1557.6 MJ to an energy release of 685.1 to 960.6 MJ per ton of digestate, thereby optimizing energy consumption in digestate management. Additionally, it was noted that using acetone as a solvent in gas chromatography for biooil samples with high ammonia content led to the formation of diacetonamine, an outcome that is deemed undesirable.

As the most abundant natural polymer material on the earth, cellulose is a promising sustainable sensing material due to its high mechanical strength, excellent biocompatibility, good degradation, and regeneration ability. Considering the inherent advantages of cellulose and the success of modern sensors, applying cellulose to sensors has always been the subject of considerable investigation, and significant progress has been made in recent decades. Herein, we reviewed the research progress of cellulose functional materials (CFMs) in recent years. According to the different sources of cellulose, the classification and preparation methods for the design and functionalization of cellulose were summarized with the emphasis on the relationship between their structure and properties. Besides, the applications of advanced sensors based on CFMs in recent years were also discussed. Finally, the potential challenges and prospects of the development of sensor based on CFMs were outlined.

Abstract Ammonia borane (AB), a liquid hydrogen storage material, has attracted increasing attention for hydrogen utilization because of its high hydrogen content. However, the slow kinetics of AB hydrolysis and the indefinite catalytic mechanism remain significant problems for its large‐scale practical application. Thus, the development of efficient AB hydrolysis catalysts and the determination of their catalytic mechanisms are significant and urgent. A summary of the preparation process and structural characteristics of various supported catalysts is presented in this paper, including graphite, metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs), metal oxides, carbon nitride (CN), molybdenum carbide (MoC), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), boron nitride (h‐BN), zeolites, carbon dots (CDs), and metal carbide and nitride (MXene). In addition, the relationship between the electronic structure and catalytic performance is discussed to ascertain the actual active sites in the catalytic process. The mechanism of AB hydrolysis catalysis is systematically discussed, and possible catalytic paths are summarized to provide theoretical considerations for the designing of efficient AB hydrolysis catalysts. Furthermore, three methods for stimulating AB from dehydrogenation by‐products and the design of possible hydrogen product‐regeneration systems are summarized. Finally, the remaining challenges and future research directions for the effective development of AB catalysts are discussed.

A low-cost efficient electrocatalyst for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is urgently required for the commercialization of Zn-air batteries. Herein, CoMn nanoalloys encapsulated in nitrogen-doped hollow carbon architectures (CoMn@NHC) as dual electrocatalysts for Zn-air batteries were developed successfully. The obtained CoMn@NHC nanohybrid expresses excellent electrocatalytic performances for ORR (E1/2 = 0.87 V) and OER (Ei=10 = 1.51 V). More encouragingly, a homemade aqueous Zn-air battery using CoMn@NHC catalyst delivers a larger peak power density of 92.3 mW cm−2 and excellent stability of nearly 300 h, outperforming the commercial Pt/C + RuO2. The remarkable electrocatalytic performances are owing to the unique microstructure and the synergistic effect between CoMn alloy and N-doped carbon substrate. This study opens a new way for designing high-efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for application in renewable energy facilities.

New Bacillus sp. strains with spore-laccase activity were isolated from rotten wood and soil samples and were identified as Bacillus sp. FM-78 and Bacillus paramycoides FM-86 by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Both laccases were stable at broad pH range and high temperature. The laccase of strain FM-78 showed preferable activity and stability, with no loss of activity after 7 days incubation at pH 9.0, and 20.36% of its initial activity obtained after 10 h at 80 °C. 1 mmol/L EDTA, NaN3 and SDS resulted in about 46–59% inactivation and strongly inhibition (87.88%) was caused by 1 mmol/L L-cysteine. However, the spore laccase could tolerate towards 0.5 mol/L NaCl as well as 10% of organic solvents. Reactive black 5, reactive blue 19 and crystal violet were decolorized by the spore laccase in the absence of mediator. The decolorization process was efficiently promoted with the presence of acetosyringone, and the color removal ratio was more than 80% in 1 h with the pH values of 6.6 or 9.0. Finally, the above unusual properties of Bacillus sp. spore laccase indicated it as a potential candidate in the dye decolorization in an ecofriendly and cost-effective way. HIGHLIGHTS Bacillus sp. FM-78 and Bacillus paramycoides FM-86 are with spore-laccase activity.; Both the spore laccase show high activity at various harsh conditions.; The spore laccases can decolorize different synthetic dyes in the absence of mediator.;

Abstract Compared with the traditional heteroatom doping, employing heterostructure is a new modulating approach for carbon‐based electrocatalysts. Herein, a facile ball milling‐assisted route is proposed to synthesize porous carbon materials composed of abundant graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h‐BN) heterostructures. Metal Ni powder and nanoscale h‐BN sheets are used as a catalytic substrate/hard template and “nucleation seed” for the formation of the heterostructure, respectively. As‐prepared G/h‐BN heterostructures exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward H2O2 generation with 86%–95% selectivity at the range of 0.45–0.75 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a positive onset potential of 0.79 versus RHE (defined at a ring current density of 0.3 mA cm−2) in the alkaline solution. In a flow cell, G/h‐BN heterostructured electrocatalyst has a H2O2 production rate of up to 762 mmol gcatalyst−1 h−1 and Faradaic efficiency of over 75% during 12 h testing, superior to the reported carbon‐based electrocatalysts. The density functional theory simulation suggests that the B atoms at the interface of the G/h‐BN heterostructure are the key active sites. This research provides a new route to activate carbon catalysts toward highly active and selective O2‐to‐H2O2 conversion.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that soybean meal (SBM) contains high levels of anti-nutritional factors, which interrupt gastrointestinal homeostasis or metabolism normally of the weaned piglets. Here, the mixed probiotics, including Bacillus licheniformis (B. licheniformis, CGMCC 8147), Saccharomyces cerevisiae H11 (S. cerevisiae H11) and Lactobacillus casei (L. casei, CGMCC 8149) were applied to the three-stage fermentation of functional feed. Our research investigated the optimum ratio of inoculation, optimal time of inoculation, combination of substrates, and nutritional value of the fermented feed. The optimal microbial combination was B. licheniformis: S. cerevisiae: L. casei = 2:2:1, inoculating at 0, 12 and 24 h, respectively. The results revealed that crude protein and acid-soluble protein were remarkably improved and had lower pH. Trypsin inhibitor, glycinin and β-conglycinin were reduced by 79.86, 77.18, and 69.29%, respectively. Moreover, animal trials further evaluated the growth-promoting effects of the fermented feed. It was noted that the average daily gain of weaned piglets was significantly higher, and the ratio of feed with weight, diarrhea incidence and mortality were lower significantly. The concentrations of serum immunoglobulin G(IgG), IgA, IgM, Complement C3 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and lysozyme activity were all increased. The relative abundance of fecal microbiota improved, especially lactobacillus, which increased the abundance of fecal dominant probiotics. Overall, the fermented feed may be conducive to the growth and health of weaned piglets by improving nutritional value, immunity properties, relative abundance of fecal microflora, and decreasing anti-nutritional factors of feed, thereby making them viable and usable feedstuffs for potential use in livestock industries.

Abstract A series of urolithins derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their structures have been confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HR-MS. The inhibitory activity of these derivatives on phosphodiesterase II (PDE2) was thoroughly studied with 3-hydroxy-8-methyl-6H-benzo[C]chromen-6-one and 3-hydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-6H-benzo[C] chromen-6-one as the lead compounds. The biological activity test showed that compound 2e had the best inhibitory activity on PDE2 with an IC50 of 33.95 μM. This study provides a foundation for further structural modification and transformation of urolithins to obtain PDE2 inhibitor small molecules with better inhibitory activity.

The generation of p-cymene from the catalytic dehydrogenation of dipentene is one of the most vital approaches for the synthesis of p-cymene in the chemical industry. Herein, CTF polymer was synthesized by an ionothermal method via using terephthalonitrile as monomer and NaCl-KCl-ZnCl2 ternary mixture as catalyst and solvent, and Pd/CTF catalyst was prepared by loading CTF matrix with Pd nanoparticles via a chemical reduction method. The as-obtained Pd/CTF catalyst with the loading amount of 5 wt% Pd showed remarkable catalytic activity in the dehydrogenation of dipentene to p-cymene with a high conversion rate of 100% and a high selectivity of 96% at the reaction temperature of 220 °C in a stainless-steel autoclave containing 0.1 MPa of Ar gas, and also exhibited good stability in the recycling tests. The strong interaction between Pd nanoparticles and CTF and the enhanced electron transfer at the metal-semiconductor interface contribute to the outstanding catalytic performance of Pd/CTF for the dehydrogenation of dipentene to p-cymene. This work demonstrates that the metal-semiconductor catalysts possessed excellent potential in the production of high-value-added chemical products from terpenes conversion.

The effective utilization of charcoal and tar byproducts is a challenge for pyrolysis gasification of bamboo. Herein, the bamboo tar was modified via polymerization and acted as a new adhesive for the preparation of excellent bamboo-charcoal-derived molding activated carbon (MBAC). As compared with pristine tar and other adhesives, the aromatization of tar with phenol increased its molecular weight, oxygenic functional groups, and thermal stability, leading to the decreased blocking impact of charcoal pore and improved bonding and pyrolytic crosslinking effect between charcoal particles. These further contribute to the high mechanical strength, specific surface area, pore volume, and amount of oxygenic functional groups for fabricated MBAC. Owing to the high microporous volume of MBAC, it exhibited 385 mg·g−1 toluene and 75.2% tetrachloride gas adsorption performances. Moreover, the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Bangham models were used to evaluate the kinetic data. The toluene adsorption process conforms to the Bangham kinetic model, suggesting that the diffusion mechanism of toluene adsorption mainly followed intraparticle diffusion.

Depolymerization of lignin to produce value-added aromatic monomers has attracted increasing attention since these monomers can be used as phenol replacement in production of phenolic resins. Here a one-pot depolymerization of bamboo lignin was investigated to obtain aromatic platforms with low molecular weight using acidic catalyst and ethanol. Three fractions (1#, 2#, and 3#) containing different molecular weight distributions of aromatic compounds could be efficiently extracted using water-organic solvent system via a stepwise fractionation process by gradual removal of solvent. The fractions distribution was found to be primarily dependent on the reaction temperature and time. When the temperature was increased from 160 °C to 200 °C, the yield of fractions containing aromatic products increased significantly from 19.1 wt% to 27 wt%, the same change trend was found by changing the time, and the yield of aromatic products increased from 22.4% to 26.7% with an increase of time from 10 min to 30 min. The bioproducts were characterized by using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and two-dimensional heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (2D HSQC NMR). As evidenced by GC–MS spectra, the three fractions were mainly comprised of phenolic derivatives, and the relative contents of phenolic compounds took up about 80% of the total area of each fraction. With the similar physiochemical properties of the fractions, aromatic platforms could provide a new paradigm of bamboo lignin utilization for renewable energy and value-added biochemicals.

Alkali lignin-degrading Bacillus were isolated from forest soils in China and were identified as Bacillus subtilis TR-03 and Bacillus cereus TR-25 by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Wherein TR-03 displayed optimal 26.72% alkali lignin (2 g/L) degradation at 7 days and 71.23% of Azure-B (0.01%) decolorization at 36 h of cultivation at 37°C. Ligninolytic enzyme analysis revealed that TR-03 was capable of depolymerizing alkali lignin effectively by the producing of lignin peroxidase and laccase, wherein higher laccase activity was cell-associated. At last, the physical and chemical changes of lignin via SEM and FTIR analysis was further observed to prove the lignin degradation by Bacillus subtilis TR-03.

Cucumber fusarium wilt is a soil-borne disease which causes serious production decrease in cucumber cultivation world widely. Extensive using of chemical pesticides has caused serious environmental pollution and economic losses, therefore, it is particularly urgent to develop efficient, safe and pollution-free biopesticide. In this study, a mutant strain of Trichoderma harzianum cultivated in moso bamboo medium was proved to be an efficient bio-inhibitor of the disease. The mutant strain T. harzianum T334, was obtained by three microwave mutagenesis cycles with an irradiation power of 600 W and irradiation time of 40 s. In contrast to the original strain, the inhibition rate on cucumber fusarium wilt of the strain T334 increased from 63 to 78%. In this work, disk milling pretreatment of moso bamboo has shown significant beneficial effects on both biotransformation and sporulation of T334. Its sporulation reached 3.7 × 109 cfu/g in mushroom bags with 90% bamboo stem powder (pretreated by disk milli), 9.5% bamboo leaf powder and 0.5% wheat bran when the ratio of solid to liquid was 4:6, the inoculum amount was 10%, and the culture temperature was 28°C. These results provide an alternative bioinhibitor for the control of cucumber fusarium wilt, and a potential usage of moso bamboo in the production of microbial pesticide.

Abstract One challenge facing the development of air electrodes for Zn–air batteries (ZABs) is the embedment of active sites into carbon, which requires cracks and blends between powder and membrane and results in low energy efficiency during manufacturing and utilization. Herein, a surface phosphorization‐monolithic strategy is proposed to embed CoO nanoparticles into paulownia carbon plate (P–CoO@PWC) as monolithic electrodes. Benefiting from the retention of natural transport channels, P–CoO@PWC‐2 is conducive to the construction of three‐phase interface structure for efficient mass transfer and high electrical conductivity. The electrode exhibits remarkable catalytic activities for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a small overpotential gap (EOER − EORR = 0.68 V). Density functional theory calculations reveal that the incorporation of P on P–CoO@PWC‐2 surface adjusts the electronic structure to promote the dissociation of water and the activation of oxygen, thus inducing catalytic activity. The monolithic P–CoO@PWC‐2 electrode for quasi‐solid‐state or aqueous ZABs has excellent specific power, low charge–discharge voltage gap (0.83 V), and long‐term cycling stability (over 700 cycles). This work serves as a new avenue for transforming abundant biomass into high‐value energy‐related engineering products.

Converting agriculture and forestry lignocellulosic residues into high value-added liquid fuels (ethanol, butanol, etc.), chemicals (levulinic acid, furfural, etc.), and materials (aerogel, bioresin, etc.) via a bio-refinery process is an important way to utilize biomass energy resources. However, because of the dense and complex supermolecular structure of lignocelluloses, it is difficult for enzymes and chemical reagents to efficiently depolymerize lignocelluloses. Strikingly, the compact structure of lignocelluloses could be effectively decomposed with a proper pretreatment technology, followed by efficient separation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, which improves the conversion and utilization efficiency of lignocelluloses. Based on a review of traditional pretreatment methods, this study focuses on the discussion of pretreatment process with recyclable and non-toxic/low-toxic green solvents, such as polar aprotic solvents, ionic liquids, and deep eutectic solvents, and provides an outlook of the industrial application prospects of solvent pretreatment.

Itaconic acid (IA) is a precursor of various chemicals, which has been on the US Department of Energy’s list of the top 12 platform chemicals that can potentially be produced from biomass. The IA is mainly produced through a bio-fermentation method with sugar as raw material. However, the high cost and low yield restrict the industrial application of the IA. This review summarized research advances in the IA production from alternative substrates. In particular, the types of substrates as well as existing problems in the IA fermentation, strain breeding, and process regulation were discussed. And it is pointed that decreasing the price of the IA with alternative substrates and increasing the titer through genetic engineering should be further focused on to support the industrialization of the IA.

With the fast consumption of traditional fossil fuels and the urgent requirement for a low-carbon economy and sustainable development, supercapacitors are gaining more and more attention as a clean energy storage and conversion device. The research on electrode materials for supercapacitors has become a hot topic nowadays. An electrode material for a supercapacitor, comprising the ZIF-67 in-built carbon-based material, was prepared from a biomass pre-hydrolysate via a hydrothermal process. As a by-product of dissolving slurry, the pre-hydrolysate is rich in carbon, which is an excellent biomass resource. The utilization of pre-hydrolysate to prepare carbon energy materials could realize the high value utilization of pre-hydrolysate and the efficient energy conversion of biomass. Meanwhile, the cobalt-based MOF (such as ZIF-67), as a porous crystalline material, has the advantages of having a regular order, high specific surface area and controllable pore size, as well as good thermal and chemical stability. The addition of ZIF-67 modified the morphology and pore structure of the carbon, and the obtained samples showed outstanding electrochemical performance. One- and two-step synthetic processes generated specimens with a coral-like cross-linked structure and a new type of rough, hollow, dandelion-like structure, respectively, and the pore size was in the range of 2.0–5.0 nm, which is conducive to ion transport and charge transfer. In C2-ZIF-67, the hollow structures could effectively prevent the accumulation of the electrochemical active center, which could provide enough space for the shrinkage and expansion of particles to protect them from the interference of electrolytes and the formation of solid electrolyte interphase film layers. Additionally, the plush tentacle structure with low density and a large specific surface area could expose more active sites and a large electrolyte electrode contact area, and short electron and charge transport paths. Importantly, active, free electrons of small amounts of Co-MOF (1 wt%) could be stored and released through the redox reaction, further improving the electrical conductivity of Carbon-ZIF-67 materials in this work. Consequently, C2-ZIF-67 exhibited superior specific capacitance (400 F g−1, at 0.5 A g−1) and stability (90%, after 10,000 cycles).

Large amounts of residual 1-methylnaphthalene are generated when 2-methylnaphthalene is extracted from alkyl naphthalene. In order to transform waste into assets, this study proposes a feasible process for preparing 2-methylnaphthalene from 1-methylnaphthalene through isomerization and crystallization. The 1-methylnaphthalene isomerization was carried out in a fixed-bed reactor over mixed acids-treated HBEA zeolite. The results showed that acidic properties of catalysts and reaction temperature were associated with the 2-methylnaphthalene selectivity, yield and catalytic stability. At a high reaction temperature of 623 K, the 2-methylnaphthalene yield was 65.84 %, and the deactivation rate was much lower. The separation of reaction products was then investigated by two consecutive crystallization processes. Under optimal conditions, the 2-methylnaphthalene purity attained 96.67 % in the product, while the yield was 87.48 % in the refining process.

Lignin is an attractive renewable source of aromatics with a low effective hydrogen to carbon ratio (H/Ceff). The catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived model compounds is a key strategy for lignin upgrading. In this work, the HDO of guaiacol, a typical lignin-derived compound, was carried out over metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived Ni-based catalysts. A monometallic Ni-MOF catalyst and different ratios of bimetallic NiMo-MOF catalysts were synthesized by a hydrothermal process, followed by a carbonization process. Among these catalysts, Ni3Mo1@C exhibited an excellent catalytic performance, affording a guaiacol conversion of 98.8% and a cyclohexanol selectivity of 66.8% at 240 °C and 2 MPa H2 for 4 h. The addition of Mo decreased the particle size of the spherical structure and improved the dispersion of metal particles. The synergistic effect between Ni and Mo was confirmed by various means, including ICP, XRD, SEM, TEM, and NH3-TPD analyses. In addition, the effect of the reaction temperature, time, and H2 pressure during the HDO process is discussed in detail.

Catalytically active carbons derived from plant biomass are conducive to the construction of renewable energy source system and utilization of sustainable resources. In this article, natural cattail fibers are used to fabricate porous nitrogen-doped carbon via direct chemical activation and heteroatom modification treatments. The graphene-like sheets from biomass pyrolysis are assembled into three-dimensional carbon frameworks. The chemical activation of KHCO3 generated unique porous structure and N-containing molecules pyrolysis modification provided nitrogen doping atoms. High surface area up to 2,345 m2·g−1 with simultaneous hierarchical pores (from micro to meso and macro) with abundant edge defects are achieved for these carbon materials. These materials have a very large external surface area up to 1,773 m2·g−1. The above strategy exhibits a significant synergistic effect on the improvement of catalytic properties toward hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction. The small over potentials and Tafel slopes of these catalytically active carbons demonstrate excellent potential applications in renewable energy conversion and storage systems. This research established a new link among environmental improvement, biomass conversion and renewable energy utilization.

Urolithins (hydroxylated 6H-benzo[c]chromen-6-ones) are the main bioavailable metabolites of ellagic acid (EA), which was shown to be a cognitive enhancer in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. As part of this research, a series of alkoxylated 6H-benzo[c]chromen-6-one derivatives were designed and synthesized. Furthermore, their biological activities were evaluated as potential PDE2 inhibitors, and the alkoxylated 6H-benzo[c]chromen-6-one derivative 1f was found to have the optimal inhibitory potential (IC50: 3.67 ± 0.47 μM). It also exhibited comparable activity in comparison to that of BAY 60-7550 in vitro cell level studies.

Bamboo was converted into bio-oil via direct liquefaction with ethanol-phenol as solvent in a 250 mL Parr High-Pressure reactor. The influences of reaction parameters such as reaction time, liquefaction temperature, catalyst content, ratio of solvent/bamboo, and phenol concentration on the liquefaction yield were investigated. The highest liquefaction yield was 98.5 wt.% under the optimal conditions. The elemental analysis of the produced bio-oil revealed that the oil product had a higher heating value (HHV) of 29.5 MJ/kg, which was much higher than that of the raw material (16.4 MJ/kg). Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) measurements showed that the main volatile compounds in the crude bio-oil were phenolics and esters.

Activated carbon (AC) with a very high surface area of over 2000 m2/g was produced from low sulfur acid hydrotropic lignin (AHL) from poplar wood using H3PO4 at a moderate temperature of 450 °C (AHL-AC6). ACs with similar surface areas were also obtained under the same activation condition from commercial hardwood alkali lignin and lignosulfonate. Initial evaluation of AC performance was carried out using nitrogen adsorption-desorption and dye adsorption. AHL-AC6 exhibited the best specific surface area and dye adsorption performance. Furthermore, the adsorption results of congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB) showed AHL-AC6 had greater adsorption capacity than those reported in literature. The dye adsorption data fit to the Langmuir model well. The fitting parameter suggests the adsorption is nearly strong and near irreversible, especially for MB. The present study for the first time provided a procedure for producing AC from lignin with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area >2000 m2/g using low cost and low environmental impact H3PO4 at moderate temperatures.

It is of great importance to explore the selective hydrogenolysis of β-O-4 linkages, which account for 45–60% of all linkages in native lignin, to produce valued-added chemicals and fuels from biomass employing UV light as catalyst. TiO2 exhibited satisfactory catalytic performances in various photochemical reactions, due to its versatile advantages involving high catalytic activity, low cost and non-toxicity. In this work, 20 wt.% Ni/TiO2 and oxidant PCC (Pyridinium chlorochromate) were employed to promote the cleavage of β-O-4 alcohol to obtain high value chemicals under UV irradiation at room temperature. The Ni/TiO2 photocatalyst can be magnetically recovered and efficiently reused in the following four consecutive recycling tests in the cleavage of β-O-4 ether bond in lignin. Mechanism studies suggested that the oxidation of β-O-4 alcohol to β-O-4 ketone by oxidant PCC first occurred during the reaction, and was followed by the photocatalysis of the obtained β-O-4 ketone to corresponding acetophenone and phenol derivates. Furthermore, the system was tested on a variety of lignin model substrates containing β-O-4 linkage for the generation of fragmentation products in good to excellent results.

Transfer hydrogenation is a novel and efficient method to realize the hydrogenation in different chemical reactions and exploring a simple heterogeneous catalyst with high activity is crucial. Ni/CNT was synthesized through a traditional impregnation method, and the detailed physicochemical properties were performed by means of XRD, TEM, XPS, BET, and ICP analysis. Through the screening of loading amounts, solvents, reaction temperature, and reaction time, 20% Ni/CNT achieves an almost complete conversion of phenol after 60 min at 220 °C in the absence of external hydrogen. Furthermore, the catalytic system is carried out on a variety of phenol derivatives for the generation of corresponding cyclohexanols with good to excellent results. The mechanism suggests that the hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone is the first step, while the hydrogenation of cyclohexanone for the generation of cyclohexanol takes place in a successive step. Moreover, Ni/CNT catalyst can be magnetically recovered and reused in the next test for succeeding four times.

The pore size distribution of activated carbon is conventionally characterized with nitrogen adsorption measurements at 77 K. The adsorption isotherms are commonly analyzed with a nonlocal density functional theory in combination with a mathematical model for the pore size and geometry. While nonlocal density functional theory is significantly more accurate than the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller theory for gas adsorption, its application to materials characterization is mostly based on a mean-field approximation for van der Waals attractions that is only qualitative in comparison with alternative versions of nonlocal density functional theory or molecular simulations. Toward development of a more reliable theoretical procedure, we compare mean-field approximation-nonlocal density functional theory with three recent versions of non-mean-field methods for gas adsorption at conditions corresponding to experiments for porous materials characterization. The potential applicability of different nonlocal density functional theory methods for pore size distribution predictions is evaluated in terms of the theoretical error bound scale analysis. We find that the weight density approximation is the most reliable for predicting the pore size distribution of amorphous porous materials. In addition to accurate isotherm, weight density approximation yields the theoretical error bound scale for pore size distribution prediction nearly 10 4 times narrower than that corresponding to mean-field approximation. The new theoretical procedure has been used to analyze the pore size distribution of four activated carbon samples and to predict the adsorption capacities of these materials.

Increased demand for liquid transportation fuels, environmental concerns and depletion of petroleum resources requires the development of efficient conversion technologies for production of second-generation biofuels from non-food resources. Thermochemical approaches hold great potential for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into liquid fuels. Direct thermochemical processes convert biomass into liquid fuels in one step using heat and catalysts and have many advantages over indirect and biological processes, such as greater feedstock flexibility, integrated conversion of whole biomass, and lower operation costs. Several direct thermochemical processes are employed in the production of liquid biofuels depending on the nature of the feedstock properties: such as fast pyrolysis/liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass for bio-oil, including upgrading methods, such as catalytic cracking and hydrogenation. Owing to the substantial amount of liquid fuels consumed by vehicular transport, converting biomass into drop-in liquid fuels may reduce the dependence of the fuel market on petroleum-based fuel products. In this review, we also summarize recent progress in technologies for large-scale equipment for direct thermochemical conversion. We focus on the technical aspects critical to commercialization of the technologies for production of liquid fuels from biomass, including feedstock type, cracking catalysts, catalytic cracking mechanisms, catalytic reactors, and biofuel properties. We also discuss future prospects for direct thermochemical conversion in biorefineries for the production of high grade biofuels.

To improve the properties of bio-oil, a new method was proposed that does not involve introduction of any energy medium. An ether-soluble fraction (ES), a dichloromethane soluble fraction (DCMS), and a dichloromethane insoluble fraction (DCMIS) of bio-oil were obtained using ether and dichloromethane as extraction solvents. The same amount of each fraction (10 g) was blended into bio-oil with a certain quantity of 100 g. The three samples were then placed in sealed vials and heated for 12, 60, and 180 h at both 60 °C and 80 °C in an oil bath. Based on the aging properties of the three fractions, blended bio-oil was prepared using ES and DCMS in certain volume ratio. The total yield of the three fractions combined was around 90 wt%; the weight loss was thought to be due to the volatilization of low molecular weight matter and water during the process of solvent evaporation using a rotary evaporator. The aging test results indicated that the DCMIS fraction had the poorest properties compared with ES and DCMS such as acid number, water content and viscosity. In order to get the best properties of blended bio-oil, the optimal volume ratio of ES/DCMS was 1/2 according to the aging test.

Hydrogels have been widely used in water purification. However, there is not much discussion and comparison about the effects of different nanofillers on the reinforcement and adsorption performances of hydrogels, which can be subjected to rapid water flow and possess strong adsorption ability. In this work, polyacrylamide (PAAM)-sodium alginate (SA) interpenetrating polymer network-structured hydrogels were prepared by in situ polymerization. PAAM formed the first flexible network and SA constructed the second rigid network. Three kinds of inorganic nanoparticles including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanoclays (NCs), and nanosilicas (NSs) were incorporated into a PAAM-SA matrix via hydrogen bond. The obtained hydrogels exhibited a macroporous structure with low density (≈1.4 g/cm3) and high water content (≈83%). Compared with neat PAAM-SA, the hydrogels with inorganic nanoparticles possessed excellent mechanical strengths and elasticities, and the compression strength of PAAM-SA-NS reached up to 1.3 MPa at ε = 60% by adding only 0.036 g NS in a 30 g polymer matrix. However, CNT was the best filler to improve the adsorption capacity owing to its multi-walled hollow nanostructure, and the adsorption capacity of PAAM-SA-CNT was 1.28 times higher than that of PAAM-SA. The prepared hydrogels can be potential candidates for use as absorbents to treat wastewater.