Saccharification of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Using Autodisplay Cells
The production of palm oil is land intensive and consumes large amounts of energy and water, thus raising concerns regarding deforestation and loss of habitats. Equally problematic is the massive formation of solid and liquid wastes. Empty fruit bunches (EFB) are one of those solid waste materials. Every year, almost 60 million tons of EFB are produced worldwide, 20 million of those in Malaysia alone. Although being a current research topic, there is no commercial process available for the saccharification of EFB enabling the production of biobased chemicals or second-generation biofuels.
Autodisplay Biotech GmbH has put together an interdisciplinary, transnational consortium with partners from Germany and Malaysia to develop a pilot scale process specifically designed for saccharification of EFB at palm oil mills (on-site). The initial point of the project is Autodisplay Biotech's proprietary plug & play technology which enables the display of cellulase enzymes on the surface of Gram negative bacteria. The technology combines the benefits of soluble enzymes (no limitations regarding mass transfer of substrates and products across membranes) and whole cell biocatalysts (recovery and re-use is possible, concentration is simple). Successful proof-of-concept experiments with saccharification of EFB have been conducted, suitable patents have been filed. Within the next 2.5 years, Autodisplay Biotech, Münster University and Universiti Malaysia Sabah will develop a cellulase blend product specifically designed for saccharification of pretreated EFB. Fraunhofer UMSICHT, responsible for process development, will develop a “pilot plant” which incorporates the ability to recover and re-use Autodisplay’s cellulase-bearing cells and conduct economic and life cycle assessments. A production process for Autodisplay’s cells will be developed by UMS in Malaysia. Post project, the pilot plant may be established at UMS.
Phd/MSc in Biotechnology available
Requirements
B.Sc (1st class) or M.Sc in Biotechnology/Bioprocess Engineering/relevant field
Good writing skill for publication
Highly motivated, passionate and independent
Screening, Characterization and Optimization of Lignin-degrading Microbes
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Lignin is a complex of aromatic compounds, and after the degradation of these compounds, the monomeric aromatic compounds can be used as a starting material for bioplastics. The exposed hemicellulose/cellulose can be converted to sugars for bioethanol production. Currently, it is known that only white rod fungi can degrade this wood lignin complex. Malaysia especially Sabah has untapped rain forest, and wood biomass has been found to degrade at a relatively high rate by the action of fungi or bacteria. However, detailed analysis has not been done systematically especially on lignin degradation. Thus, the overall research project will focus on the analysis of fungi or bateria found in the deep rain forest of Sabah as well as those locally found in the oil palm plantation for efficient digestion of wood biomass especially EFB of oil palm.
Phd/MSc in Biotechnology available
Requirements
B.Sc (1st class) or M.Sc in Biotechnology/Bioprocess Engineering/relevant field
Good writing skill for publication
Highly motivated, passionate and independent
Characterization of Endotoxin-biomolecule Interactions to Enhance Product Recovery in Biomanufacturing
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Endotoxins exist in many gram-negative bacteria that are widely used in manufacturing recombinant therapeutic products and are inevitably released during the downstream processes. Endotoxins may introduce a wide range of side effects to the end users if not adequately removed from the final product. Until today, endotoxin contamination in biomanufacturing/bioproduction is still a hot topic among purification technologists. There have been no universal methods that can be followed when removing endotoxins from final products.This is due to characteristics of endotoxin such as self-aggregating and ability to interact/bind to other biomolecules thus partially copurified in the final product. Endotoxin detection is often limited by the conventional Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay which is highly sensitive to pH and buffer compositions. This project embarks on the study of endotoxin-bioproduct interaction in an attempt to explain the effect of buffer composition and condition on the structure, activity and interaction of endotoxin with various bioproducts. How this information can be used in strategising an effective endotoxin removal procedure will also be studied. The research activities include but not limited to analysis of aggregation and molecular interaction using chemical/spectrophometry based and microscopic analysis. It is expected that new knowledge and experts in the field of endotoxin detection, analysis and removal in biomanufacturing will be produced. The research outputs will also be disseminated in the form of research article, conference proceedings and thesis dissertation.
Phd/MSc in Biotechnology available
Requirements
B.Sc (1st class) or M.Sc in Biotechnology/Bioprocess Engineering/relevant field
Good writing skill for publication
Highly motivated, passionate and independent
Scaling Up of Polymethacrylate-based Monolithic Column Adsorbent for High-throughput Biomolecules Purification
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Polymethacrylate monolithic adsorbents have been successfully applied for analytical-scale separation and purification of biomolecules. However, research work in the development of large-volume methacrylate monolith for large-scale applications is limited, and this is due challenges faced with conventional synthesis approaches. Monolith size and volume are important factors to validate the scalability of the proposed technology for the synthesis of large monoliths for chromatographic applications. At present, large rodtype monoliths are currently not available, and are of great commercial interest since rod-type monoliths generally give longer retention and better chromatographic efficiency compared to short or thin monoliths. The synthesis of large-volume methacrylate monolithic polymers is challenged with the release of excessive exotherms associated with the polymerization reaction, and this causes pronounced radial temperature deviations that significantly affect the structural homogeneity of the monolith. Also, the unstirred nature of the polymerization within the mould results in a limited capacity to uniformly distribute the heat of polymerization. Control of polymerization temperature and heat transfer distribution is the key parameters required for the preparation of large monoliths with reproducible and homogenous pore and surface structures.
Phd/MSc in Biotechnology available
Requirements
B.Sc (1st class) or M.Sc in Biotechnology/Bioprocess Engineering/relevant field
Good writing skill for publication
Highly motivated, passionate and independent
Development of Polymethacrylate-Based Tangential Flow Filtration System for Waste Water Treatment
The exponential growth of human population and the rapid industrial development resulting in the increasing release of municipal and industrial wastewater at a fast rate and it is affecting the water bodies. Therefore, development of a low-cost and more effective technology is crucial to improve the treated water quality. The conventional wastewater treatment system usually employs dead end filtration which is prone to clogging and other significant disadvantages; incomplete removal of impurities, high energy consumption and production of toxic sludge. Additionally, several unit operations are required in order to obtain treated water with the desired quality which increases the operating cost. To overcome these limitations, this research aims to develop a tangential flow filtration (TFF) system with functionalized polymethacrylate monolith which will offer both primary and secondary treatments in a single step. In TFF system, the feed flows tangentially across the filter thus enabling prolonged filtration as the filter cake is continuously washed away during the filtration process. In this study, multifunctional polymethacrylate monolith membrane with desired surface characteristics will be synthesized and functionalized for simultaneous removal solid, ionic and organic compounds as well as colour and odour. Additionally, algal based bioremediation will be developed whereby the excess nutrients from the wastewater such as nitrogen and phosphorus will be used as feed for the microalgal growth. Therefore, besides producing high quality filtered water, the TFF-polymethacrylate monolith system will be used for harvesting microalgae that can be used further for biodiesel production.
Phd/MSc in Biotechnology available
Requirements
B.Sc (1st class) or M.Sc in Biotechnology/Bioprocess Engineering/relevant field
Good writing skill for publication
Highly motivated, passionate and independent