The benefits of applied research: 37 years of discoveries, adaptations and solutions

Abstract

The authors’ work started in fermentation in 1977 and in the 1980’s into sugar production and cane quality. Statistical analysis was a key factor for the success of improving yield in ethanol and sugar production as well as cane quality. Adaption of methods for industrial laboratories also was very important in relation to yield and in reduction of sugar losses in the factory. Methodologies to measure sugar losses occurring through degradation in the factory (evaporation) using ion chromatography and dry substance content with a digital density meter were adapted. The fermentation yield improved from 75% in 1977 to 92% in 2014, which was possible by adapting methods for live bacterial counting within 20 min, and by controlling contamination using antimicrobial products through research in the laboratory and the industry. Since 1990 yeasts for industrial fermentation were selected by karyotyping analysis of the nuclear chromosomes and in the last seven years based on mitochondrial DNA. The last technique made the “Process Driven Selection” possible, i.e. one or several yeast strains which fit each distillery. Floc formation in carbonated beverages is not only due to the Indicator Value (discovery by SPRI research group) but also to aconitic acid and calcium under Brazilian conditions.

Artisanal cachaça and brewer's spent grain as sources of yeasts with promising biotechnological properties

“…This type of medium guarantees the absence of external factors, including contamination by chemical agents and nutritional variations due to processing, which can affect the parameters under study (Borges et al . ; Tosin and Andrietta ). Also, the carbon source concentration (150 g l −1 sucrose) of the synthetic medium is compatible with the concentration used in industrial ethanolic fermentation processes.…”

“…Ethanol fuel is an efficient alternative to fossil fuels because it has a high positive energy net balance, and a balance in the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions (Borges et al . ; Chagas et al . ; Lopes et al .…”

“…Despite these numbers and more than 40 years of advances in the bioethanol production (Borges et al . ), there is a need for complementary measures to improve the economic competitiveness of this fuel. One of these actions is the collection of yeast strains with properties that increase productivity and reduce costs of production (Basso et al .…”

Changes in the bacterial community and overall metabolic profile in a first-generation ethanol distillery under distinct fermentative yield

“…Contaminants also produce compounds that inhibit the growth of Due to its potential for evaluating hundreds of metabolites in complex biological samples at a time, metabolomics is currently used in several research fields, including the search of diagnostic and prognostic markers, investigation of biomolecules, evaluation of systemic responses, the in situ characterization of interactions between different microorganisms and their environment, the identification of metabolic pathways and also for food authentications SIUZDAK, 2016a;DEMARQUE et al, 2020). Actually, some ethanol distilleries quantify specific metabolites in the fermented wine, such as sugars, organic acids, mannitol, and glycerol, to monitoring contaminants, yeast biomass formation and estimate the fermentation yield (BORGES et al, 2015;. This methodology is known as targeted metabolomics and can be applied for analytical validation, specific metabolites detection, and quantification (JOHNSON; IVANISEVIC; SIUZDAK, 2016).…”

Avaliação da relação C/N no desempenho da levedura >i<Saccharomyces cerevisiae>/i< CAT-1

“…Em meados da década de 70, devido à crise do petróleo, o Brasil buscou diminuir sua dependência por combustíveis fosseis, reduzindo as importações de petróleo. Com isso, em 1975 iniciou o programa PRÓ-ALCOOL, com a finalidade de aumentar a produção de etanol, proporcionando benefícios financeiros aos produtores e baixando os impostos para os consumidores (BORGES et al, 2015).…”