A systematic micro-dissection of brewers’ spent grain

Brewers’ spent grain (BSG), one of the co-products of the brewing industry, has been mainly used as cattle feed. Spent grain was shown to contain a number of potentially high-value components such as feruloylated arabinoxylan and protein, as confirmed by microscopy and chemical analysis. A significant quantity of starch was also identified, a polysaccharide generally considered to be removed through the malting and mashing steps of brewing. As part of a study to increase the exploitation of spent grain, five separate fractions were prepared through combined milling and vibratory sieving and characterised in terms of chemical composition (polysaccharide composition and linkage; phenolic composition) and by fluorescence microscopy. Material retained on sieve mesh plates of 500, 250 and 150 μm consisted mainly of arabinoxylan-rich palea and lemma, while material passing through 106 and 55 μm sieves was fine, crumb-like material enriched in protein and starch. Lignin was present in all fractions, and originated from the fragmented palea and lemma. The results are discussed in relation to the potential for whole BSG exploitation.     

Evaluation of Fusarium oxysporum as an enzyme factory for the hydrolysis of brewer's spent grain with improved biodegradability for ethanol production

Brewer's spent grain (BG), the most abundant brewing by-product, is used in the present study as a low-cost feedstock for the production of ethanol by the mesophilic fungus Fusarium oxysporum using a consolidated bioconversion process. The production of required cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes was optimized under solid-state cultivation (SSC) concerning carbon source and initial moisture. The optimal medium contains BG and corn cobs (CC) in a ratio 7:3 while the optimal initial moisture is 66% (w/w). SSC in a laboratory horizontal bioreactor using the optimized medium allowed the large-scale production of a multienzymic system including endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase, β-d-glucosidase, xylanase, feruloyl esterase, acetyl esterase, β-d-xylosidase and α-l-arabinofuranosidase. Chromogenic (fluorogenic) 4-methylumbelliferyl substrates were used to partially characterize the extracellular proteome of the microbe after the separation by isolectric focusing (IEF) electrophoresis. Alkali pretreatment of brewer's spent grain and different aeration levels were studied for the optimization of the ethanol production by F. oxysporum in a consecutive submerged fermentation. A yield about 65 g ethanol kg⁻¹ of dry BG was obtained with alkali pretreated BG under microaerobic conditions (0.01 vvm) corresponding to 30% of the theoretical yield based on total glucose and xylose composition of BG.     

Effect of enzymatic and technological treatments on solubilisation of arabinoxylans from brewer's spent grain

Brewer's spent grain (BSG), the most abundant brewing by-product, has hidden and underexploited nutritional potential. In order to valorize BSG, the effects of three commercial xylanases and a peptidase on water unextractable arabinoxylans (WUAX) were studied. Comparing all treatments, higher addition of xylanase resulted in an increase in water extractable arabinoxylans (WEAX). In the most efficient treatment, xylanase alone was able to solubilise 23.7% of WUAX, while the peptidase showed no effect. However, when added together with xylanase, peptidase increased the solubilisation of WUAX up to 1.6 folds. A positive correlation between particle size reduction and solubilisation of WUAX was also proved through milling BSG. These results suggest that access to xylan backbone increases with proteolytic activities, proving a synergistic effect of these specific enzymes. Therefore, if properly treated before being added as ingredient, BSG could add health functionalities to foodstuff while reducing the environmental impact of brewing industries.     

Production of syrup rich in arabinoxylan oligomers and antioxidants from wheat bran by alkaline pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis,and applicability in baking

The target of this work was to develop a novel, industrially applicable process for simultaneously releasing different valuable components from wheat bran, including carbohydrates, oligomeric arabinoxylan and antioxidants. The process was based on alkaline pretreatment with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Increasing KOH-dosage and thermal severity in pretreatment promoted carbohydrate solubilisation in hydrolysis, reaching glucose and arabinoxylan yields up to 86% and 76%, respectively. Release of antioxidants was particularly promoted by increasing KOH-dosage, while both the pretreatment severity and KOH-dosage promoted the release of oligomeric arabinoxylan in enzymatic hydrolysis. Two bran syrups, with or without KOH-treatment, were tested in bread making by substituting added sugar in the dough with bran syrup. The KOH-derived KCl also substituted 30% of NaCl in the bread formulation. The addition of bran syrup did not affect the baking properties of wheat bread dough. However, a decrease in bread flavour balance was observed with addition of syrup from KOH-pretreated bran. Conceptual level techno-economic assessment indicated that production of bran syrup would be economically feasible at a minimum selling price of 770 €/t and 1030 €/t with KOH-pretreatment and without KOH, respectively.     

Optimization of formic/acetic acid delignification of Miscanthus × giganteus for enzymatic hydrolysis using response surface methodology

A Box-Behnken experimental design and response surface methodology were employed to optimize the pretreatment parameters of a formic/acetic acid delignification treatment of Miscanthus × giganteus for enzymatic hydrolysis. The effects of three independent variables, namely cooking time (1, 2 and 3 h), formic acid/acetic acid/water ratio (20/60/20, 30/50/20 and 40/40/20) and temperature (80, 90 and 107 °C) on pulp yield, residual Klason lignin content, concentration of degradation products (furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural) in the black liquor, and enzymatic digestibility of the pulps were investigated. The major parameter influencing was the temperature for pulp yield, delignification degree, furfural production and enzymatic digestibility. According to the response surface analysis the optimum conditions predicted for a maximum enzymatic digestibility of the glucan (75.3%) would be obtained using a cooking time of 3 h, at 107 °C and with a formic acid/acetic acid/water ratio of 40/40/20%. Glucan digestibility was highly dependent on the delignification degree.