Lignocellulose Biodegradation will be useful for chemists, biochemists, microbiologists, molecular biologists, and biochemical engineers. This book describes advances in lignocellulose biodegradation and application in biotechnology. It contains a combination of original research and review chapters. An overview chapter on lignocellulose biodegradation and applications in biotechnology focuses on recent research progress in the field. Lignocellulose Biodegradation includes sections on pretreatment, biodegradation, enzyme characterization and application.

Lignin is a generic name for the complex aromatic polymers that are major components of vascular plant tissues. Lignin is abundant; in terms of weight it is probably second only to cellulose among renewable organic materials, and in terms of energy content it might well be the single most abundant. an international seminar on lignin biodegradation was organized and was held May 9 to 11, 1978, at the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. This book records the proceedings of that seminar and is meant to provide a summary of research. Each speaker/author was asked to summarize his research, including his latest unpublished results, and to describe how his work fits into the overall picture. Following two orientation chapters, one a review of lignin structure and morphological distribution in plant cell walls, and the second a review of the microbial catabolism of relevant aromatics, the book is comprised of chapters in the three subject areas given by the book's title. It does, as intended, provide comprehensive coverage of research to date (August 1978).

Addresses a Global Challenge to Sustainable DevelopmentAdvances in Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Industrial Waste examines and compiles the latest information on the industrial waste biodegradation process and provides a comprehensive review. Dedicated to reducing pollutants generated by agriculturally contaminated soil, and plastic waste fr

This Handbook discusses the recent advances in biodegradation technologies and highlights emerging sustainable materials, including environmentally friendly nano-based materials for replacing plastics. It is useful to scientists, engineers, biologists, medical doctors and provides alternative eco-friendly materials to replace the currently used ones with harmful impact on the environment and life. The chapters present different types of alternative materials in diverse areas, such as food packaging materials, materials for construction and agricultural materials. The principles and types of biodegration technologies are described in depth.

This book offers valuable insights into the principles, mechanisms of action and applications of traditional and novel enzymes involved in the degradation of wastes. Enzymes are biological catalysts that play an important role in various biochemical reactions. The generation of value-added products by means of these biological processes is also discussed. This book covers the use of in silico and computational methods in understanding the biodegradation processes, and reveals the importance of enzymes in various biochemical reactions and kinetics. The book’s target audience includes undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members at colleges and universities, research students, scientists and industry professionals.

The agricultural and forestry processing wastes (lignocellulosics) are an important material resource and energy source. However, if untreated they can pose a danger to the environment and potentially valuable resources. Microorganisms contribute significantly to solving the problem of biomass degradation, its recycling and conservation. In the recent years, an increasing interest shown by the textile, food, feed & pulp, and paper industries in the microbial and enzymatic processes has triggered in-depth studies of lignocellulolytic microorganisms and their enzymes. Moreover, the advent of recombinant DNA technology in the late 1970s further paved the way for developing technologies based on lignocellulolytic microbes and enzymes. Lignocellulose Biotechnology presents a comprehensive review of the research directed towards environmentally friendly agricultural and forest by-products. The book comprises 22 chapters, divided in four sections. It deals with a wide range of topics including biodiversity of lignocellulose degrading microorganisms and their enzymes, molecular biology of biodegradation of lignin, characterization of lignocellulolytic enzymes, bioconversion of plant biomass to produce enzymes, animal feed, bioethanol and industrial applications of lignocellulolytic enzymes. The chapters dealing with industrial applications also address current biotechnological approaches in lignocellulose bioconversion to value added products. This book is essential for students, researchers, scientists, and engineers working in the fields of environmental microbiology, environmental biotechnology, life sciences, waste management, and biomaterials.

FROM THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE This book . . . is focused on the structure and function relationships of the four major hydrolytic enzymes, cellulases, cellobiohydrolases, b-glucosidases, and xylanases as it relates to their mechanism of action. It should be of interest to biotechnologists and industrial researchers interested in manipulating these enzymes to their full potential as catalysts for various current and new applications. It begins with an overview of the nature of cellulose and heteroxylan, followed by a description of the enzymes involved in its hydrolysis, their general structure, characteristics, and classification. Chapter 3 discusses how these various enzymes are integrated and associated for the efficient solubilization of cellulose and heteroxylan. This includes a review of the literature concerning the cellulosomes and other cellulolytic complexes. The chapter on production and purification provides an overview of this subject matter. . . . These first four chapters thus set the stage for the more comprehensive discussion of the mechanism of action of each of the primary hydrolases which follows. . . . [T]he data pertaining to the catalytic mechanism of both the retaining and inverting forms of these enzymes since such studies were initiated on cellulases . . . in 1954 is reviewed in Chapter 5. The book concludes with an overview of the mode of action of the enzymes and a discussion, citing a few examples, of how the modern methods of molecular biology, enzymology, and X-ray crystallography are being used to manipulate selected enzymes for a variety of biotechnological and industrial purposes. The information in this new book will be of value to scientists and researchers working in the areas of biochemistry, botany, crop science, ecology, microbiology and mycology, in addition to those in the forestry and forest product industries.