Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound platform technology to increase bio-ethanol production

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

We will have depleted over 50% of our fossil fuel storage in the next 50 years. Therefore, we must begin developing alternative, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and bio-fuel. One of the most widely recognized bio-fuel sources is bio-ethanol, which is a type of renewable bio-energy and can be blended with petroleum to create a bio-fuel blend used in conventional equipment without modification. Unfortunately, current bio-ethanol production processes are either inefficient resulting in low net-energy gains, or are infringing on other industries, such as the food or agricultural industry. An encouraging solution is the use of lignocellulosic biomass as a source of bio-ethanol. This NSERC grant will be used to support the collaboration between a Canadian biotechnology company (IntelligentNano Inc.) and the University of Alberta (UofA) teams to jointly designing an ultrasound system to enhance the production of bio-ethanol. The UofA team has preliminary experimental results showing that the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound can increase the number of cellulase enzymes and thus increase the lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol conversion by up to 40%. The proposed research activities includes: (i) designing a user-friendly interface for ultrasound generator; (ii) designing an ultrasound sensor for auto-calibration; (iii) constructing wireless feedback between the transducer and sensor; and (iv) testing the performance of the whole ultrasound fermentation system, and obtaining the Canadian standard association approval of our design for commercial use. This funding will enable IntelligentNano Inc. to access the unique ultrasound technology developed at the UofA. On the other hand, the grant will also train UofA students essential skill sets needed by Canadian biotechnology industry. Both teams will also jointly develop fermentation protocols for future industrial scale-up applications. This project will enhance Canadian compatibility in the area of bio-fuel research and commercialization in world stage.