Microwave steam explosion and enzymatic hydrolysis of vine-branch

Abstract

Our research target was to utilise vine-branch, existing in huge amounts, for energetic purposes. During our experiments, microwave (MW) treatments of different powers (400-1600 W), pressures (1-5 bar), temperatures (120-180 °C), and treatment times (3-30 min) were applied to change the physical condition of vine-branch. After MW, enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) was used (85-100 h, 37 °C). In addition, beside MW, comparisons were made regarding various treatment methods: untreated (UTE), cooking plate (CP), and autoclave (AC), to determine to what extent they affect the fi nal glucose yield. This yield can even further be increased by MW pre-treatment (50 W, 3-30 min, 40 °C) of the enzyme used during the hydrolysis, which reinforces the argument that enzyme activity can be increased by irradiation. A difference of 22.1% was detected among the glucose yield values in untreated and treated enzyme processes.

Detection of efficiency of microwave-enhanced sludge treatments by dielectric measurements

“…For economic reasons the application of different pretreatment technologies are required to enhance the efficiency of the utilisation processes. Microwave irradiation (MW) is proven to be a promising pre-treatment method in different food technologies and biomass utilisation based on previous studies [1,2,3,4]. As a result of its unique heating mechanism provides a fast and selective heating ability [5], the applicability of microwave treatments in sludge stabilisation processes need to be investigated thoroughly.…”

Impact assessment of microwave treatment of raw cow's milk on its microbiological properties

“…In subsequent researches the influence of microwave radiation on lipase and xanthine oxidase enzyme activity was analyzed in consumer milks due to which an increase of enzymatic activity was found in the milk samples [8]. Certain researches show that a higher increase in glucose content was achieved for microwave treated vine-branch samples treated with cellulose enzyme, hence justifying the increase of enzymatic activity [9]. Besides all the above, the analysis of its impact on microorganisms also constitutes the subject of several researches.…”