New transportation fuels are badly needed to reduce our heavy dependence on imported oil and to reduce the release of greenhouse gases that cause global climate change; cellulosic biomass is the only inexpensive resource that can be used for sustainable production of the large volumes of liquid fuels that our transportation sector has historically favored. Furthermore, biological conversion of cellulosic biomass can take advantage of the power of biotechnology to take huge strides toward making biofuels cost competitive. Ethanol production is particularly well suited to marrying this combination of need, resource, and technology. In fact, major advances have already been realized to competitively position cellulosic ethanol with corn ethanol. However, although biotechnology presents important opportunities to achieve very low costs, pretreatment of naturally resistant cellulosic materials is essential if we are to achieve high yields from biological operations; this operation is projected to be the single, most expensive processing step, representing about 20% of the total cost. In addition, pretreatment has pervasive impacts on all other major operations in the overall conversion scheme from choice of feedstock through to size reduction, hydrolysis, and fermentation, and on to product recovery, residue processing, and co-product potential. A number of different pretreatments involving biological, chemical, physical, and thermal approaches have been investigated over the years, but only those that employ chemicals currently offer the high yields and low costs vital to economic success. Among the most promising are pretreatments using dilute acid, sulfur dioxide, near-neutral pH control, ammonia expansion, aqueous ammonia, and lime, with significant differences among the sugar-release patterns. Although projected costs for these options are similar when applied to corn stover, a key need now is to dramatically improve our knowledge of these systems with the goal of advancing pretreatment to substantially reduce costs and to accelerate commercial applications. © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Pretreatment: the key to unlocking low-cost cellulosic ethanol

The uncontrolled discharge of large amounts of food waste (FW) causes severe environmental pollution in many countries. Within different possible treatment routes, anaerobic digestion (AD) of FW into biogas, is a proven and effective solution for FW treatment and valorization. The present paper reviews the characteristics of FW, the principles of AD, the process parameters, and two approaches (pretreatment and co-digestion) for enhancing AD of food waste. Among the successive digestion reactions, hydrolysis is considered to be the rate-limiting step. To enhance the performance of AD, several physical, thermo-chemical, biological or combined pretreatments are reviewed. Moreover, a promising way for improving the performance of AD is the co-digestion of FW with other organic substrates, as confirmed by numerous studies, where a higher buffer capacity and an optimum nutrient balance enhance the biogas/methane yields of the co-digestion system.

Reviewing the anaerobic digestion of food waste for biogas production

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are typically highlighted for their potential application in gas storage, separations and catalysis. In contrast, the unique prospects these porous and crystalline materials offer for application in electronic devices, although actively developed, are often underexposed. This review highlights the research aimed at the implementation of MOFs as an integral part of solid-state microelectronics. Manufacturing these devices will critically depend on the compatibility of MOFs with existing fabrication protocols and predominant standards. Therefore, it is important to focus in parallel on a fundamental understanding of the distinguishing properties of MOFs and eliminating fabrication-related obstacles for integration. The latter implies a shift from the microcrystalline powder synthesis in chemistry labs, towards film deposition and processing in a cleanroom environment. Both the fundamental and applied aspects of this two-pronged approach are discussed. Critical directions for future research are proposed in an updated high-level roadmap to stimulate the next steps towards MOF-based microelectronics within the community.

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An updated roadmap for the integration of metal–organic frameworks with electronic devices and chemical sensors

Structural features affecting biomass enzymatic digestibility.

The effects of catalysts in biodiesel production: A review

Nickel/cobalt oxide-decorated 3D graphene nanocomposite electrode for enhanced electrochemical detection of urea

A porous composite catalyst based on nickel-metal organic framework (Ni-MOF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was synthesized for non-enzymatic urea detection. The Ni-MOF was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photo electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The morphology and the structure of the Ni-MOF were studied using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The Ni-MOF/MWCNTs coated indium tin oxide glass was used as a novel electrochemical sensor for urea detection. The Ni-MOF/MWCNT electrode showed a very high sensitivity of 685 μAmM −1 cm −2 , low detection limit of 3 μM and a response time of 10 s. Moreover, the sensor showed remarkable stability with no loss in activity after 30 days of storage under ambient conditions. Overall, the novel hybrid inorganic–organic material showed notable potential for designing of micro-scale point of care diagnostic devices for urea sensing applications.

Hyon Hee Yoon

Papers

Nickel/cobalt oxide-decorated 3D graphene nanocomposite electrode for enhanced electrochemical detection of urea

Nickel-metal organic framework/MWCNT composite electrode for non-enzymatic urea detection

Volatile fatty acids production from marine macroalgae by anaerobic fermentation

Preparation and evaluation of BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ (BZCYYb) electrolyte and BZCYYb-based solid oxide fuel cells

Ultrarapid sonochemical synthesis of enzyme-incorporated copper nanoflowers and their application to mediatorless glucose biofuel cell