A simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) optimization process was carried out on pretreated empty fruit bunches (EFBs) by employing the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). EFBs were treated using sequential acid-alkali pretreatment and analyzed physically by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The findings revealed that the pretreatment had changed the morphology and the EFBs’ structure. Then, the optimum combination of enzymes and microbes for bioethanol production was screened. Results showed that the combination of S. cerevisiae and T. harzianum and enzymes (cellulase and β-glucosidase) produced the highest bioethanol concentration with 11.76 g/L and a bioethanol yield of 0.29 g/g EFB using 4% (w/v) treated EFBs at 30 °C for 72 h. Next, the central composite design (CCD) of RSM was employed to optimize the SSF parameters of fermentation time, temperature, pH, and inoculum concentration for higher yield. The analysis of optimization by CCD predicted that 9.72 g/L of bioethanol (0.46 g/g ethanol yield, 90.63% conversion efficiency) could be obtained at 72 h, 30 °C, pH 4.8, and 6.79% (v/v) of inoculum concentration using 2% (w/v) treated EFBs. Results showed that the fermentation process conducted using the optimized conditions produced 9.65 g/L of bioethanol, 0.46 g/g ethanol yield, and 89.56% conversion efficiency, which was in close proximity to the predicted CCD model.

An attempt was made to apply the solid state fermentation (SSF) for the production of single cell protein (SCP) using oil free rice bran waste as substrate. A local isolate of Aspergillus niger, was used as protein source for the studies. Total proteins were extracted to estimate the mycelial biomass from the moldy bran. Carbonate-bicarbonate extraction buffer and a pH 10 was found to be most efficient among the buffers used for the extraction of the proteins from the organism. The effect of supplementation by various sources of nitrogen and mineral solution on the final biomass yield was compared. The influence of C/N ratio on the protein yield was also studied. Sodium nitrate at C/N ratio of 1.387 was found to be an effective nitrogen-supplementing source, as it gave the higher biomass yield.

The promising development of catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) across a wide range of lignocellulosic biomass for bio-oil production is economically viable. Unreformed bio-oils are not directly compatible with the petrochemical infrastructure due to various physio-chemical properties of the oil. High oxygenation of bio-oil is one of its major problems and in situ catalytic upgrading is providing a potential way to overcome this obstacle. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is a lignocellulosic by-product of the oil palm industry, which have been researched in the context of various fast pyrolysis studies without the usage of catalysts. Malaysia, being the second largest oil palm producer in the world, has a huge incentive to maximise the efficacy of this industry and the utilization of its EFB and other related wastes. This aim of this paper is to review the recent advances in CFP of EFB and compare it to other similar lignocellulosic materials particularly for the production of deoxygenated bio-oil.

The influence of process variables and formulation composition on the sphericity and diameter of the alginate capsules which contained dual cations (Ca-and-chitosan) are characterized in this study. Capsule sphericty was not influenced by needle diameter but instead, capsule diameter increased proportionally with the needle diameter. The combined effects of the liquid core solution and alginate solution on the sphericity of the capsules are tabulated. Spherical capsules can be produced when the following criteria were fulfilled: stirring speed is in the range of 240–300 rpm; calcium chloride concentration is >5 g/L; viscosity of liquid core solution is >203 mPa.s; as well as viscosity of alginate solution is in between 47 and 386 mPa.s. The capsule diameter was predicted using a modified Tate’s law equation and an error analysis was conducted to evaluate the equation. The predicted diameter was well correlated with the experimental data with an average absolute deviation <3.6%.