Exothermic bioconversion

Biomass is recognized as a renewable resource for energy production and is abundantly available around the world. Biomass can be converted to bio-fuel via different thermal, biological and physical processes.

Bioconversion is the process by which an organism or its enzyme bring out chemical changes on compounds that are not part of their metabolism and they result in the formation of novel or useful products.

In exothermic reactions, energy is transferred from the reaction system into the surroundings. The average kinetic energy of the surroundings increases causing the reaction mixture to increase in temperature and get warmer.

Exothermic: from the Greek exo meaning outside and therme meaning heat. An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of light and heat. It is the opposite of an endothermic reaction. It gives out energy to its surroundings. The energy needed for the reaction to occur is less or greater than the total energy released for exothermic or endothermic reaction, respectively. Energy is obtained from chemical bonds.

In bioconversion highly exothermic process; the heat of reaction has to be removed quickly to avoid overheating and deactivating the catalyst and also to prevent production of undesired methane.
Exothermic bioconversion

Process of bioconversion

Bioconversion processes generally take place in bioreactors, which may be operated in batch, continuous, or semi-continuous mode, among others. Moreover, different bioreactor configurations may be suitable depending on the specific application.

It is the process by which an organism or its enzyme bring out chemical changes on compounds that are not part of their metabolism and they result in the formation of novel or useful products.

Bioconversions also known as biotransformation, are preferred where the nature of some biochemical conversions in plant cells is complex and the type of reactions cannot be accomplished by synthetic routes.

A bioconversion technology project requires an ecological and economic performance evaluation at the conceptual phase of the project.

The technology may range from solid-phase bioconversion processes to gas-phase ones, besides aqueous phase bioprocesses. In any case, a given amount of moisture is generally needed, as this is required, in most cases, for optimal microbial activity.

The effectiveness of bioconversion projects may be estimated by the productivity of the bioreactor, taking into account the costs for thermostabilization and intensification of the fermentation process. The economic efficiency of investments in innovative, energy efficient bioconversion projects is determined by taking into account capital and operating costs for the proposed project.

Example of bioconversion industry:
*Waste conversion in the dairy industry
*Bioconversion of cellulosic wastes
*Hemicellulose conversion
*Bioconversion of starch wastes

Bioconversion processes and biorefineries are environmentally friendly alternatives to common chemical processes and conventional oil refineries. They allow the production of a wide range of products with cheap biocatalysts, usually under mild conditions.
Process of bioconversion