Bioenergy Researchat the University of Nottingham

Funding of £10K was secured by the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham from the BBSRC for a joint international workshop on biofuel production in São Paulo state, Brazil, facilitated by the Brazilian agencies BioEN and FAPESP and hosted by Universidade de São Paolo’s (USP) Centro Paulista de Bioenergia.

Members of The University of Nottingham’s Bioenergy team began the workshop with a visit to FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation) situated in the centre of Sao Paulo. Both Nottingham and Birmingham academics were warmly welcomed by Dr Marco Antonio Zago, University of Sao Paulo (USP) Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Dr Maria Jose Giannini of the Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) and representatives of the Sao Paulo Research Foundation FAPESP. FAPESP and its colleagues in the three big Sao Paulo State Universities and LACE are eager to exchange their research outcomes and find common ground for potential future collaborations. Prof Nigel Minton gave a presentation on “Systems and Synthetic Biology approaches to fuel and chemical commodity production through sugar and gas fermentation” and Prof David Archer

presented a talk on “Fungal enzymes for saccharification of biomass”.

Brazilian academics also gave presentations on topics such as “Biological approach to breakdown of complex polysaccharides”, “Biomass production”, “Bio refining” and “Farm-level economics of biofuel

International Bioenergy Workshop São Paulo State, Brazil, May 2012

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Professors Nigel Minton and David Archer, University of Nottingham, Dr Glaucia Souza, Professors Edgar Beauclair and Igor Polikarpov, all University of Sao Paulo

production”. The presentations were followed by fruitful discussions, and altogether it was a thoroughly successful first day with many interesting interactions between UK and Brazilian researchers.

Day 2 of the workshop began with a visit to Unicamp – State University of Campinas, Campinas. The University of Campinas is one of the public Universities’ of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. Unicamp is recognised as the most prolific Research centre and is responsible for around 15% of all Brazilian research. The opening session was addressed by Ronaldo Aloise Pilli – Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, who gave a short overview of the University and it’s research programmes. Drs Trevor Phister and Marcus Marvin UoN gave a presentation on “Strategies for developing yeast strains for improved bioethanol production from lignocellulosic wastes”.

Following the talks academics visited a number of laboratories including a genomic lab, fermentation lab and the hydrogen lab. Parallel to the laboratory visits

Louise Dynes and Agatha Frischmuth (University of Nottingham) met with members of INOVA (Unicamp Innovation Agency) to discuss the social aspects of bioenergy in both Brazil and the UK and exchanged ideas on how to promote bio energy research in both countries.

Day 3 of the workshop involved a visit to University of Sao Paulo (USP). The University of Sao Paulo was established in 1934 by the state of Sao Paulo and is the largest Brazilian university. The day began with an

informal meeting and various discussions with the academics from the institute of Chemistry and Prof Marcos Buckeridge from The Institute of Biosciences. The meeting was accompanied with a visit to the botanical garden which is situated on the campus and is used for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation.

Day 4 involved a visit to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences – Botucatu Unit, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP. A series of presentations were given by the UNESP academics and a visit to the facilities and fields used to produce bioenergy from sugarcane and eucalyptus followed the presentations.

The week finished with a trip to Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - ESALQ in Piracicaba. Brazilian and UoN academics presented a short

overview of their research and during the afternoon

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

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Drs Trevor Phister and Marcus Marvin presenting at Unicamp, State University of Campinas

Harvesting Sugarcane at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Botucatu Unit, Sao Paulo State University - UNESP

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

Dr Marcus Marvin, Louise Dynes and Agatha Frischmuth held a student recruitment session with 50 Brazilian undergraduate and postgraduate students, advising them on matters of bioenergy research, application processes, exchange programs, scholarships and living expenses in the UK.

The Workshop and visit to Brazil gave a clear insight into what is going on in that country with regards to 1st generation biofuel production. With regards to lignocellulosic second generation biofuel production there will be increased interest over the coming years in using Bagasse as a source of bioethanol production, the production of xylitol, which can be used as an artificial sweetener in the food or pharmaceutical industry, or glycerol for the production of biodiesel.

“Having found two researchers who work in the same field, I believe that both myself and Dr Trevor Phister will be able to set up meaningful long-term collaborations, furthermore, I believe additional collaborations can also be set up especially with regards to fermentation of hydrolysed Bagasse given time and further cooperation. In the future we hope to collaborate and form joint grant proposals with Brazilian partners.” Dr Marcus Marvin

BSBEC Grant Holders Workshop in April, 2012The third BSBEC Grant Holders Workshop was held at Crewe Hall, Crewe from 17-18th April 2012. This year’s programme was designed to address how BSBEC researchers and investigators can add value through, amongst other things, bringing together research threads to form top class publications and addressing the energy inputs of bioenergy production to make bioenergy cost competitive with other energy sources.

The programme commenced with a welcome and introduction from Duncan Eggar, the BBSRC Bioenergy Champion and an overview of BSBEC from Richard Flavell, the Chair of BSBEC SIAB. This was followed by a series of presentation and poster sessions from the various research programmes.

University of Nottingham’s LACE programme Conference Presentations and Posters

1. Presentations:

• Pathways to biomass deconstruction : feedstock, process and chemical factors - Roger Ibbett, Sanyasi Gaddipati, Sandra Hill, Greg Tucker.

• Lignocellulosic biomass choices for efficient saccharification during bioethanol fermentation -

Sanyasi Gaddipati, Roger Ibbett, Sandra Hill, Greg Tucker.

• Farm Business Perceptions of Straw and Bioenergy - Neryssa J Glithero, Paul Wilson, Stephen J Ramsden.

• Physiological Responses of Aspergillus niger to Lignocellulosic Material - Steven Pullan, Stéphane Delmas, Matthew Kokolski , David Archer.

• The Impact of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) on fermentation performance - Stephen Lawrence, Daniel Kerruish, Kirsty-Louise Marrow, Trevor Phister, Katherine Smart.

• Life Cycle Analysis of lignocellulosic biofuels - Marcelle McManus.

2. Posters:

• Mining natural fermentative ecosystems to improve conversion of lignocellulosic residues to Bio-ethanol - Ayesha Shuja, Marcus E Marvin, Felix Dafhnis-Calas and Edward J Louis.

• The Sustainability of Cereal Straw Removal - Carly Whittaker, M.C. McManus, G.P Hammond.

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Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

• The effect of carbon source on the germination of Aspergillus niger conidia - Kimran Hayer, Michaela Novodvorska, Stephane Delmas, Steve Pullan and David Archer.

• Phenotypic characterisation of Saccharomyces sensu stricto to inhibitory compounds released during the deconstruction of lignocellulosic material - Darren Greetham, Felix Dafhnis-Calas, Marcus Marvin, Kay Leung, Stephen Lawrence, Tithira Wimalasena, Trevor Phister, Ed Louis, Katherine Smart.

• Phenotypic microarray identification and genetic analysis of yeast strains demonstrating improved tolerance to fermentation stress conditions - Tithira Wimalasena, Kay Leung, Stephen Lawrence, Kirsty – Louise Marrow, Marcus Marvin, Trevor Phister, Ed Louis, and Katherine Smart.

• Comparison of the transcriptional response of Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger exposed to lignocellulose, using RNA-sequencing - Laure

Ries, Steven Pullan, Stéphane Delmas and David Archer.

• Environmental performance of ethanol fuel from lignocellulosic biomass - Aiduan Borrion, Marcelle McManus and Geoff Hammond.

• Understanding the Physiological Responses of the Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus niger to Growth upon Lignocellulosic Material - Stéphane Delmas, Steven Pullan, Matthew Kokolski and David Archer.

• Theme C: Social and Ethical Dimensions: Key Findings and Future Implications - Sujatha Raman, Kate Millar and Alison Mohr.

• Effect of inhibitors released during hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic biomass on Pichia and Kluyveromyces - Yogi Chandelia, Trevor Phister and Katherine Smart.

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Technology Strategy Board briefing event on Sustainable Manufacturing in the Food Processing Industry, London 19th June 2012Dr Roger Ibbett attended this event, which brought together workers from industry and academia, for the launch of a new funding initiative focussed on the reduction of waste and improvement in efficiency in food processing. The TSB competition provides opportunities for collaborative funding in support of UK business, for novel development-stage activities, with clear potential for commercialisation. Possible projects may include the utilisation of food or crop waste for bioethanol production, or for recycling for other value products.

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

Uncovering Methodologi-cal Uncertainties in LCA and Bioenergy Modelling Workshop, London July 2nd 2012LACE researchers from the Universities of Nottingham, Dr Alison Mohr and Dr Sujatha Raman, as well as Dr Marcelle McManus from the University of Bath have held a workshop on “Uncovering Uncertainties in LCA and Bioenergy Modelling” in collaboration with colleagues at the Energy Biosciences Institute in Berkeley, USA. The research aims to bring together perspectives from engineering, science, sociology, policy to identify and aid understanding and management of the range of uncertainties inherent in LCA and bioenergy modelling, and their implications for future practice, policy-making and research.

The workshop was held in London on July 2nd 2012 with participants from industry, government agencies and academia, who explored the particular challenges faced by practitioners and policy-makers in the development, uptake and utilisation of LCA and bioenergy modelling, and in various group exercises tried to identify potential pathways to manage major uncertainties and challenges. The outcomes of this workshop will ultimately contribute to the development of a brief report for LCA/Bioenergy modelling practitioners, policy-makers and broader stakeholder community, academic outputs and future research proposals.

Joint UK-India Workshop on Composition and Deconstruction of Plant Biomass 7th - 8th June 2012The BBSRC recently sponsored a joint workshop on Bioenergy between UK and Indian research groups. This was hosted by The University of Nottingham on the June 7th and 8th 2012 at The Yew Lodge Hotel, Kegworth, Leicestershire. The workshop commenced with a series of presentations from each of the research groups to “set the scene” with respect to their research interests and capabilities and thus allow common areas of interest to be identified. This was followed by breakout sessions in which the delegates discussed potential joint research proposals. The outcome will hopefully be the formation of a number of research consortia across the two countries who will then develop highly focussed research proposals.

This Workshop included the following aspects of biomass deconstruction:

• Lignocellulosic feedstocks - chemical composition and cell wall organisation

• Effects of pre-treatment on biomass structure and composition

• Hydrolytic enzymes for biomass deconstruction

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Delegates at the Joint UK-India Workshop

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

Alcohol School Workshop 23rd - 27th April 2012

“I was invited to give a talk at the 2012 Alcohol school workshop which is an annual event funded by Lallemand (Montreal, Canada) and was in Toulouse from the 23rd to 27th April. I gave a presentation called Characterisation of Robust Yeast for bioethanol fermentations, the talk went down well and I had interest from companies looking to exploit the PM assay described in the presentation. I also received emails after the workshop from the bio-fuels industry wanting further details about the current state of research in the bio-ethanol field.” Dr Darren Greetham

International Fuel Ethanol Workshop 4th - 7th April 2012

Scott Davies a LACE Phd student recently attended the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Exhibition in Minnesota, USA; this is the world’s largest and longest running ethanol conference. The conference comprised of four focused sessions which included; Production and operations, leadership and

financial management, co products and product diversification and cellulosic and advanced ethanol. As well as an opportunity for networking and attending a conference social media site. For more information please visit:

http://www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Home

20th European Biomass Conference, Milan, Italy, 18th - 22nd June 2012

This international conference was attended by Dr Sanyasis Gaddipati, from Strand 1 of the LACE programme, who gave a talk in the session on Lignocellulosic Bioethanol, entitled “Accessibility and reactivity of lignocellulosic biomass: The key to efficient fractionisation and utilisation of value products. This covered work carried out by Dr Gaddipati and Dr Roger Ibbett, utilising microwave processing techniques for the study of biomass fractionation reactions under different solvent and catalyst conditions.

Conferences

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New to the Team – Peri Sykes, LACE Project ManagerPeri has joined the LACE programme as Project Manager in May this year having previously worked at the University of Nottingham Graduate School.  Her experience involves working on a number of externally funded projects within a higher education setting as well as the local authority and Chamber of Commerce.  Peri has a Ba in Business and Economics and is currently studying for an MSc in Project Management.

LACE Researchers Moving On Dr Stephane Delmas who works on the physiological response of the filamentous fungi Aspergillus niger when exposed to lignocellulose with Professor David

Archer will be leaving the LACE programme in July and will take up a new position on 1st of September as a lecturer at Sorbonne Université Pierre et Marie Curie (www.upmc.fr). “I will be teaching microbiology and genetics. My research will focus on developing a system model for a phylum of Archaea named Thaumarchaea.” Dr Stéphane Delmas

Dr Sanyasi Gaddipati who worked on Strand 1 of the LACE programme has also recently left to take the position of Research fellow working on a LINK project to do with the effect of biopolymers on salt taste perception within the department of Food Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham.

Dr Marcus Marvin Co investigator on Strand 2 of the LACE programme will also be leaving the team in August to start a position with a Crown Research Institute (CRI) called Industrial Research Limited,

Other News

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

which helps with commercialisation of research for academics and Research and Development for companies in New Zealand.

“My post in New Zealand is Senior Research Scientist/Molecular Biologist and I will be bioprospecting or developing Filamentous Fungi/Yeasts/Bacteria for compounds of commercial value for industrial/medical/food and beverage uses. I will be extending my work at The University of Nottingham in yeast biofuels using accelerated evolution and my metagenomic/bioprospecting

studies by collecting new strains of Filamentous Fungi/Yeast/Bacteria from the environment in New Zealand.” Dr Marcus Marvin

The LACE team would like to wish them well in their new roles.

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1.Borrion,  A.L.,  McManus,  M.C.  and  Hammond,  G.P.,  2012.  ‘Environmental  life  cycle  assessment  of  lignocellulosic  conversion  to  ethanol:  A  review’,  Renewable  &  Sustainable  Energy  Reviews,  accepted  for  publicaKon.

2.Borrion,  A.L.,  McManus,  M.C.  and  Hammond,  G.P.,  2012.  ‘Environmental  life  cycle  assessment  of  transportaKon  fuel  from  lignocellulosic  biomass’,  Energy  (SDEWES  2012  Special  Issue),  accepted  for  publicaKon.

3.Hammond,  G.P.  and  Seth,  S,  2012.  ‘Carbon  and  environmental  foot  prinKng  of  global  biofuel  producKon’,  Proc.  4th  InternaKonal  Conference  on  Applied  Energy  [ICAE2012],  Suzhou,  China,  5-­‐8  July,  Paper  ICAE2012-­‐A10811,  9  pp.

4.WhiZaker,  C.,  McManus,  M.C.  and  Hammond,  G.P.,  2012.  ‘The  Renewable  Energy  DirecKve  and  cereal  residues’,  6th  SETAC  World  Congress/SETAC  Europe  22nd  Annual  MeeKng:  ‘Securing  a  sustainable  future:  IntegraKng  science,  policy  and  people’,  Berlin,  20-­‐24  May.  

If  you  would  like  to  receive  a  copy  of  an  arKcle  please  email  bioenergy@no`ngham.ac.uk

Recent Publications

Cereals, 13th – 14th June 2012, Boothby Graffoe, LincolnshireCereals is the leading technical event for the UK arable industry with over 64ha of stands and live demonstrations including Crop Plots, Working Cultivations, Sprays and Sprayers, Post-Harvest Technology, Business Alley, Potatoes and Renewables. Over 470 leading suppliers come together to update 26,900 visitors on the very latest products, ranging from seeds to sprayers, crop varieties to cultivation equipment, fertilisers to finance.

Outreach News

Louise Dynes, Bioenergy Outreach Officer at the Cereals 2012 stand

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham’s 2012 display this year emphasised education and training particularly industrial Advanced Training Partnership (ATPs). Specific LACE contributions included producing bio-ethanol from straw and Modelling greenhouse emissions associated with growing crops for bio-ethanol production.

The Big Bang Regional Fair – 28th June 2012. East Midlands Conference Centre, NottinghamThe Big Bang brings together an unprecedented and unparalleled partnership between Government, education, industry and the wider science and engineering communities. Part of the Big Bang programme features a series of nation-wide events incorporating the hearts of the National Science & Engineering Competition. A celebration of young people’s achievements, the initiative aims to encourage more young people to take part in science, technology, engineering and maths initiatives.

The East Midlands event took place at the East Midlands Conference Centre on University Park on the 28th June and is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people though out the region. The audience consisted largely of pupils, aged 12-19, who are interested in STEM subjects and their teachers. 

Louise Dynes the Bioenergy Outreach officer coordinated an exhibition stand at the fair which comprised of a number of hands–on activities to

demonstrate bioenergy and bioenergy production including; ‘discover the power of yeast’ and ‘build your own biofuel molecule’ from molymods. The activities were very well received and we hope to be back again next year.

New Outreach ResourcesSome downloadable resources for schools – experiments and worksheets, are now available on the bioenergy webpage please visit the link below for more information:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/bioenergy/outreach/online-resources/onlineresources.aspx

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Big Bang activity

Bioenergy Research at the University of Nottingham

World Brewing Congress - Portland, Oregon USA. July 28th – August 1st 2012Current technological advances, new research results, the future of brewing, and different methods of brewing will all be discussed on a global scale. This is international gathering of all brewing industry professionals.

http://www.worldbrewingcongress.org/

The 13th International Congress on Yeasts – Madison, Wisconsin, USA. 26th – 30th August 2012The 13th International Congress on Yeasts is sponsored by the International Commission on Yeasts as part of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. It provides an opportunity for presenting the latest research progress in yeast metabolism, physiology, genetics, genomics, regulation, ecology, systematics, phylogeny, food and beverage applications, biofuel production and clinical applications.

http://conferencing.uwex.edu/conferences/icy2012/

LACE Conference 3rd – 4th September 2012University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, UK

If you would like further information about our outreach please contact our outreach officer louise.dynes@nottingham.ac.uk

Upcoming Events

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