Despite being considered renewable, corn (Zea mays) ethanol still generates much debate over the use of fossil fuels in its production and is considered less sustainable than sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) ethanol. In Brazil, corn ethanol is starting to be produced in the Center-West and is expected to increase with the RenovaBio, a promising policy for biofuels adoption. In this context, energy cane (Saccharum spp.) is a biomass crop with high yields that can provide bagasse to supply the energy demand of the corn ethanol industry and provide juice with about 10% sugar content. However, the effects of introducing its juice in the production process are unknown. For these reasons, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of adding energy cane juice in corn ethanol production. Energy cane juice brings several advantages: (i) It provides sugars that can reduce by almost 50% the amount of corn and enzymes used, (ii) reduces the amount of water needed for ethanol production, and (iii) increases significantly the fermentation efficiency from 86.4% to 90.8% by providing minerals that support yeast growth. Therefore, energy cane can be integrated into the corn ethanol production process, making the fermentation more efficient and the production systems more sustainable.

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Bees are manufacturers of relevant economical products and have a pollinator role fundamental to ecosystems. Traditionally, studies focused on the genus Melipona have been mostly based on behavioral, and social organization and ecological aspects. Only recently the evolutionary history of this genus has been assessed using molecular markers, including mitochondrial genes. Even though these studies have shed light on the evolutionary history of the Melipona genus, a more accurate picture may emerge when full nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of Melipona species become available. Here we present the assembly, annotation, and characterization of a draft mitochondrial genome of the Brazilian stingless bee Melipona scutellaris using Melipona bicolor as a reference organism. Using Illumina MiSeq data, we achieved the annotation of all protein coding genes, as well as the genes for the two ribosomal subunits (16S and 12S) and transfer RNA genes as well. Using the COI sequence as a DNA barcode, we found that M. cramptoni is the closest species to M. scutellaris.

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Brazil is the second-largest producer of ethanol and the alcoholic fermentation wastes have become a concern for both environmental and economic reasons. Recently, the Brazilian industry has implemented the second generation (2G) process to attend the growing for biofuel. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the 2G vinasse faces the same environmental challenges that first generation (1G) vinasses do, meaning vinasses from ethanol processes using sugarcane juice and/or molasses. Thus, vinasse was obtained from one of the recently-started 2G ethanol facilities in São Paulo State and then chemically characterized. Considering glycerol, mannitol, residual sugars, and organic acids concentrations altogether, it was determined that 2G vinasse had a total carbon source of 23,050 mg L-1 (compared to 4,800 mg L-1 in 1G vinasse). Magnesium, calcium, potassium, and others salts were determined as well. Based on its chemical composition, vinasses could be considered as nutrient sources for other bioprocesses. Finally, we brought some perspectives into bioprocesses with nutritional requirements that might be fully or partially provided by vinasses, leading to the production of bioenergy or bioproducts.