39 results about "Fungal biomass" patented technology

A method of processing stillage from fermentation derived alcohol is disclosed, including dry-grind ethanol production from corn, by fermentation with filamentous fungi. This produces high-value fungal biomass that can be recovered by screening, is easily dewatered and used as an animal feed, human food or as a source of nutraceuticals. The methodology uses an airlift reactor to enhance the morphology of the fungi for easy harvesting and separation of water for recycling and reuse and to recover added enzymes and mineral acid with the water. The process also separates oil from the stillage. The fungal processing removes organic substances from the water that are otherwise inhibitory to the reuse prospects for the water, i.e. suspended and dissolved organic matter, including glycerol, lactic and acetic acids. The process also separates oil from the stillage by enmeshing the oil in the fungal biomass and can produce more oil through cultivation of oleaginous fungi. This approach generates revenue from low value thin stillage, while substantially reducing stillage processing costs, mainly by averting the need for evaporation of the thin stillage.

Methods of extracting chitin and chitosan from fungal biomass using a solution of one or more ammonia compounds, amines, and / or alkaline silicate compounds. The solution dissolves and extracts amino acids, fatty acids and other carbohydrates from the fungal cells leaving chitin and / or chitosan, and the extractant may be recovered from the liquid by simple phase changes such as heating or cooling, dissociation into volatile components, distillation and / or solidification and separation of immiscible extractants. Further lipid removal may be achieved with one or more organic solvents, which may also be recovered by distillation.

A more efficient method for producing glucosamine from microbial biomass such as, for example, fungal biomass is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for obtaining glucosamine from fungal biomass includes providing fungal biomass containing chitin, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor, or mushroom. The fungal biomass is then reacted in an acidic solution with an acid concentration of greater than about 20% by weight and at a reaction temperature greater than about 60 DEG C to convert the chitin to glucosamine. This reaction is performed for a period of less than 4 hours. The glucosamine is then separated from the acidic solution. In selected embodiments, dried fungal biomass is used to accelerate the reaction. This dried fungal biomass may, in some embodiments, have a moisture content of less than about 20% and in some cases less than about 13%.

The present invention is directed to an improved method of processing thin stillage from ethanol production and / or other industrial processes to produce high value fungal biomass that can be recovered by simple means. The effluent is sanitized and recycled using a novel disinfection technique. This innovative approach generates revenue from low value thin stillage, while reducing wastewater purification costs.

The present invention relates to a simple and economic method of extracting a crystalline Carotenoid compound, such as Beta-carotene, Lycopene, with a purity of at least 99%. The present invention further describes a process to prepare such a highly pure crystalline Carotenoid compound from microbial biomass, using an Anti-purity compound removal process followed by a mono-solvent extraction method. Further the process describes value addition of the co-products recovered during the extraction process thus resulting in a highly economical industrial method for the production of such high purity crystalline Carotenoids compound.

The present invention presents an alternative to the direct implementation of an industrial scale second generation bioethanol process with the integration of the second generation into the existing first generation bioethanol processes, which aims to reduce the current barriers to process change / investments. In particular, the present invention relates to an integrated second generation process for producing bioethanol comprising at least one fungal cultivation stage for producing ethanol and fungal biomass. The present invention also relates to a novel fungal biomass, rich in protein and essential amino acids, which is produced with said integrated second generation process for producing bioethanol for use as a nutritious substitute for human and domestic animal use.

Methods of extracting chitin and chitosan from fungal biomass using a solution of one or more ammonia compounds, amines, and / or alkaline silicate compounds. The solution dissolves and extracts amino acids, fatty acids and other carbohydrates from the fungal cells leaving chitin and / or chitosan, and the extractant may be recovered from the liquid by simple phase changes such as heating or cooling, dissociation into volatile components, distillation and / or solidification and separation of immiscible extractants. Further lipid removal may be achieved with one or more organic solvents, which may also be recovered by distillation.

Glucosamine suitable for human or animal consumption is disclosed. The glucosamine is derived from microbial biomass containing chitin. Suitable starting materials include substantially uniform microbial fungal sources, such as fungal sources derived from Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Mucor sp. and combinations thereof. Methods of producing glucosamine by acid hydrolysis of fermented fungal biomass are also disclosed.

Use of a fungal biomass for treating industrial wastewaters containing at least one dye, wherein:i. the fungal biomass contains at least the fungal species Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenberg) Vuillemin;ii. the fungal biomass absorbs the at least one dye, so as to obtain wastewater that is basically free of the at least one dye.

The invention relates to a method for producing an organic fertilizer by using a by-product mycelium during isaria cicadae miquel production as a raw material. According to the present invention, theorganic fertilizer produced by the method has high nutrient content, and especially the organic matter content of more than 95%.

The invention discloses an anti-pathogenic bacteria target gene fragment of verticillium dahlia VdEG and an interference vector and application thereof. A host induced gene silencing technology is adopted, a verticillium dahlia strain with high pathogenicity is used as a material to construct a plurality of interference plasmids of nicotiana fracture virus against exoglucanase of the target gene of verticillium dahlia, nicotiana benthamiana is transformed, and verticillium dahlia is inoculated by a method of agrobacterium injection, a Gateway interference vector is constructed in the target region which can obviously reduce the plant disease index to obtain stable genetic transgenic plants, and the fungal biomass and target gene transcription level are detected by the disease index and molecular biological methods to screen the best interference region. The screened VdEG target gene fragment and the Gateway interference vector constructed by adopting the target gene fragment can be applied to the improvement of the disease resistance of plants to verticillium dahlia and the cultivation of new varieties of anti-verticillium dahlia transgenic plants.

The invention discloses a verticillium dahliae ADP-ATP carrier protein (AACP) pathogenesis key target gene as well as an interference vector and application thereof, belonging to the fields of cloning and application of a verticillium dahliae pathogenesis key gene. According to the invention, 3 sections of pathogenesis key target genes which are capable of significantly reducing disease index in a plant are screened from an AACP gene by virtue of a host induced gene silencing technology, and the 3 sections of target segments are further used for constructing a Gateway interference vector, so as to obtain transgenic tobacco which is significantly high in pathogenic bacterium resistance and stable in genetic performance. Through disease index and fungal biomass analysis as well as transcriptional level detection of the target gene, an optimum interference section of the AACP gene is finally screened and obtained. The verticillium dahliae ADP-ATP carrier protein pathogenesis key target gene and the RNA interference vector disclosed by the invention are applicable to improving disease resistance of plants to verticillium dahliae and breeding new varieties of transgenic plants resisting verticillium dahliae.