Cost-effective multiplication of the entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi (F) Samson
Cost-effective and rapid multiplication of Nomuraea rileyi is reported. The spore yields in semi-synthetic media were comparable or significantly higher to the standard medium. Maltose and peptone, carbon and nitrogen sources could be effectively replaced with 2% barley extract and 1% soybean extract respectively. However, replacement of yeast extract with dry yeast resulted in lower spore yields. Sporulation of the fungus multiplied on solid substrate was possible only when the bags used had a 0.2 μm filter to facilitate passive exchange of sterile air. A high spore yield of 2.8 × 109/g of substrate was realized on crushed sorghum.
Mass scale cultivation of entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi using agricultural products and agro wastes
Various agricultural products like rice, sorghum and wheat and agrowastes namely refuse raw potatoes and refuse raw bananas were evaluated for mass scale cultivation of entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi. Among the grains, rice (5.53 x 107spore/g) supported the maximum spore production of fungus followed by refuse raw bananas (4.2 x 107spores/g) and sorghum (4.01 x 107spores/g) on the 11th day after inoculation of spore suspension. whereas, wheat (3.55 x 107spores/g) and refuse potato chips (3.1 x 107spores/g) supported less spore load than other substrates on the 11th day and on the 15th day after inoculation of spore suspension respectively. According to the references based on N. rileyi, use of raw banana as dry chips form for cultivation of fungus was carried out for the first time in this study. This study suggests alternative nutrient sources for mass scale cultivation of fungus and that the biotechnological potential of agro refuses could be employed in biopesticide development.
Technology and economics of fermentation alcohol — An update
Abstract Fermentation alcohol is being widely studied as an alternative fuel, and production is increasing, especially in Brazil, where the goal is more than 10 billion litres per year by 1985. Fuel markets are hundreds of times greater than the traditional ethanol markets which the existing industry supplies. To make a material contribution to fuel supply, fermentation ethanol must be treated as a major chemical and produced in large-volume, highly efficient plants. Such plants must be assured of a continuous supply of low-cost raw materials for which suitable processes have been developed and commercially proven. Sugar cane in the tropics and grains in some temperate countries meet these requirements; cellulosics do not qualify at present, nor will they in the foreseeable future, without major breakthroughs. Using techniques borrowed from the starch sweetener industry, starchy materials may be economically hydrolysed to fermentable sugars; rapid acid hydrolysis may prove superior to enzymatic processes. Major projects are under way to replace traditional batch or cascade fermentations with rapid, single-vessel continuous units, but these have not yet been fully proven. Where suitable, yeast recycle is being used as a means of increasing alcohol yields, and energy-efficient distillation methods of the petrochemical industry are being adopted. The consequent large reduction in steam consumption greatly reduces the appeal of other methods which have been proposed to remove water. Opportunities for process improvements abound, especially in developing (1) the means to provide cellulosic raw materials in large quantities at acceptable costs, (2) economically effective methods of pretreating and hydrolysing cellulosics, (3) practical organisms for converting five-carbon sugars to ethanol and (4) higher fermentation yields and efficiencies using bacteria or immobilized yeast.