The current investigation deals with the application of microwave energy to facilitate alkali (NaOH) pretreatment on banana peel waste (BPW) to achieve optimal reducing sugar. We studied the effect of microwave power (100 to 600 W) and irradiating time (1 to 6 min) on composition and reducing sugar content of BPW. The enzymatic hydrolysis of microwave-assisted alkali-pretreated BPW at 600 W for 2 min gave the maximum reducing sugar (0.561 g/g) of dry biomass waste. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the surface of all BPW was changed noticeably when microwave-assisted alkali pretreatment was employed. X-ray diffraction study revealed a 5-fold increment in the degree of crystallinity in optimal microwave alkali-treated samples (54.45%) as compared to the untreated sample (10.55%). Overall, the microwave-assisted alkali pretreatment removed a significant amount of hemicelluloses and lignin and led to a high amount of sugar production, suggesting microwave heating pretreatment as a potential alternative to conventional methods to achieve maximal reducing sugars.

Pleurotus spp. are the most commonly cultivated and consumed mushrooms in India. This mushroom grows on almost all kinds of traditional as well as the non-traditional biomass sources giving good yield. In the present study, Panicum virgatum and Panicum maximum grasses were utilized for the cultivation of Pleurotus florida. The highest biological efficiency was obtained in case of 50% WS + 50% PM (68.45%) followed by the 100% WS (66.43%). The harvested fruiting bodies analysed for the nutritional parameters revealed that significant difference was found among the fruiting bodies produced on the selected agrowastes studied for the different proximates analyzed especially in protein content. Based on the biological efficiency of the substrates tested, utilization of Panicum maximum biomass seems to be a promising supplement with wheat straw for growing P. florida.

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) is a precursor molecule of ethylene whose concentration is elevated in the plant subjected to biotic and abiotic stress. Several soil microorganisms are reported to produce ACC deaminase (ACCd) which degrades ACC thereby reducing stress ethylene in host plants. This study is aimed to apply ACCd producing beneficial rhizobacteria to improve biochemical parameters and cell wall properties of Panicum maximum exposed to salt and drought stress, focusing on bioethanol production. Thirty-seven ACCd producing bacteria isolated from rhizospheric soil of field grown P. maximum and 13 were shortlisted based on their beneficial traits (root colonization, production of indole acetic acid, siderophore, hydrogen cyanide, phosphate solubilization, biofilm formation, tolerance to salt and Polyethylene glycol) and a total score obtained. All shortlisted bacteria were found significant in enhancing the plant growth, water conservation, membrane stability, biocompatible solutes and protein, phenolic contents and photosynthetic pigments in plants grown under stress conditions. Cell wall composition (Cellulose, Hemicellulose and Lignin) of the treated plants grown under stress conditions recorded a significant improvement over their respective controls and found equivalent to the plants grown under normal circumstances. Biomass from bacterial treatment recorded higher total reducing sugars upon pre-treatment and hydrolysis, and theoretical bioethanol yield.

Different perennial grasses are one of the biomass options for lignocellulosic bioethanol production. The benefits of cultivating this form of biomass in terms of natural diversity and landscape protection are numerous. The NED pretreatment was combined with a traditional three-step bioethanol manufacturing procedure. The results demonstrate that glucose concentrations and hydrolysis efficiencies were similar at all pretreatment temperatures, ranging from 4.3 to 5.1 g/l and 15.2 percent to 17th.7%, respectively. On the other hand, as the pretreatment temperature climbed, the ethanol production fell. However, utilising this type of feedstock, the mass balance found that 100 g of biomass could create 3.3-4th.0 g ethanol. Because of the pretreatment, which may not have been adequate for soft biomass, the total efficiency and yield of the process were lower than predicted. Perennial grasses give interesting choices in the current demand for renewable and sustainable energy sources to alleviate the load of the global energy crisis. The ligno-cellulosic perennial grass Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass), which is used as a cheaper and more efficient feedstock for bioethanol production in Europe and the United States, might also be used in India for the same reason. The current study focuses on bioethanol production using P. virgatum (for the first time in India) and P. maxima. Switch grass seeds were received from the University of Bologna in Italy, whereas guinea grass seeds were obtained from the IGFRI in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Both grasses were grown at IIT Delhi's Micromodel (an experimental field location). The harvested grass biomass was analyzed for various parameters including reducing sugars for subsequent bioethanol production. Among different pretreatment methods (Acid pretreatment, Alkali pretreatment and Microwave pretreatment) tested , alkali method showed maximum reducing sugars (280 mg/g for P. virgatum and 262 mg/g for P. maximum ) with 15 % reduction in crystallinity of cellulose in P. virgatum and 12% in P. maximum. RSM and CCD were used to improve it even further. To increase reducing sugar content, the impacts of four independent variables were investigated: NaOH (1-5%), temperature (60-100 C), substrate loading (1-3%), and reaction time (30-150 min). The following were the combined best conditions for maximum reducing sugar (68.3 percent): 2.5 percent substrate, 5% NaOH, and a reaction duration of 120 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius. A second order polynomial equation was used to evaluate the results (ANOVA). demonstrated a considerable increase in lowering sugars of 62-68 percent. The potential ethanol production from switch grass was calculated to be 26.72 percent, while it was 25.24 percent for P. maxima. This study shows that sugar yield is greatly increased under optimum pretreatment conditions, indicating that both P. virgatum and P. maximum grasses could be used as feedstock for bioethanol production in India. At the conference, all data related to all stages of cultivation, characterisation, pretreatment and hydrolysis procedures, and bioethanol production from these grasses will be discussed. Recent Publications 1. Adak, A., Tiwari, R., Singh, S., Sharma, S., & Nain, L. (2016) Laccase Production by a Novel White-Rot Fungus, Pseudolagarobasidium acaciicola LA 1 Through Solid-State Fermentation of Parthenium Biomass and Its Application in Dyes Decolorization. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 7, 1427-1435. 2. Arora, K., Sharma, S., & Monti, A. (2016) Bio- remediation of Pb and Cd polluted soils by switchgrass: A case study in India. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 7(18), 704-709. 3. Arora, K.; Kumar, A., & Sharma, S. (2012) Energy from Waste: Present Scenario, Challenges and Future Prospects towards Sustainable Development. IGI Global, 271-296. 4. Tiwari, G., Shivangi, Sharma, S., & Prasad, R. (2015) Bioethanol production: Future prospects from non-traditional sources in India. International Journal of Research in Biosciences, 4, 1-15. 5. Kumar, A., & Sharma, S. (2011) Non-edible oil seeds as biodiesel feedstock for meeting energy demands in India, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15, 1791-1800

The present study proved the potential of generating reducing sugars from various fruit peel wastes (pineapple, mango, orange) using microwave assisted alkali pretreatment. The results showed that enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated pineapple peel waste produced maximum reducing sugar, i.e. 0.774 g/g dry biomass. X-ray diffraction study revealed the prominent role of microwave heating in the disruption of recalcitrant lignocellulosic structures and improving the enzymatic digestibility of FPWs. We believe that microwave assisted alkali pretreatment of FPWs could be an energy-saving technology aimed to valorize the agro-industrial wastes in a cost effective way.

India ranks first among world’s mango producing countries accounting for about 50% of the world’s mango production. India’s share is around 52% of world production i.e. 12 million tonnes as against world’s production of 23 million tonnes .The current study presents a systematic exploration of the influences of microwave assisted alkali pretreatment (including power and irradiating time) on enzymatic hydrolysis and reducing sugar content of mango peel wastes (FPW). It was observed that higher reducing sugar concentration was observed at 450 W. The enzymatic hydrolysis of microwave assisted alkali pretreated mango peel waste (1 % NaOH) under optimal conditions (450W for 2min), gave maximum reducing sugar i.e. 0.704 g/g dry biomass. Atomic force microscopy revealed that surface of all FPWs got changed noticeably when microwave assisted alkali pretreatment was employed. X-ray diffraction also showed the prominent role of microwave heating in the disruption of recalcitrant structures and improving the enzymatic digestibility of MPWs. We believe that microwave assisted alkali pretreatment could be an energy-saving technology aimed to valorize the waste in a cost effective way.

The present study was carried out to investigate the integrated effect of non-edible oil cakes with reduced dose of urea on yield and fodder value of Cenchrus setigerus along with gene expression of rhizospheric Azospirillum. Maximum yield of 23.75 t/ha was obtained when 75 % of nitrogen required by the grass was provided by Neem cake and rest by urea. Fodder value in terms of acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre and crude proteins were also significantly (P<0.05) affected by the treatments. The population of free-living Azospirillum in the rhizopheric soil was directly proportional to the amount of cakes applied in soil. With Urea alone, the nifH and ntrC gene activity was found to downregulated by 1.5 and 4.0 folds respectively but integration of cakes (both Jatropha and neem cake) upregulated the nifH and ntrC gene expression.

In the present demand for renewable and sustainable sources of energy to overcome the burden on world energy crisis, perrenial grasses have presented exciting options. Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) is a perennial grass and can be utilized for the production of bio-fuel in the form of cellulosic ethanol as it is a cost effective and efficient feedstock for bioethanol production. The conversion of biomass into glucose, an important step for the bioethanol production and it requires optimum pretreatment. Among various pretreatment methods available, alkali treatment reduces the lignin content and decreases the crystallinity of cellulose efficiently. In the present paper Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the alkali pretreatment of P.maximum (Guinea grass) for maximum reducing sugar production. Joint effects of five independent variables; Sodium Hydroxide concentration, Temperature, Substrate loading, pH and Reaction time, were investigated. The optimum conditions in which maximum reducing sugar yield (57.42%) obtained were: 1.8% substrate, 1% Sodium Hydroxide loading, 9.5 pH, a reaction time of 127.5 min, and a temperature of 110 oC. This result has been statistically analyzed with a second order polynomial equation. This study reveals the promising use of P.maximum biomass as a feedstock for getting reducing sugar, which is required for bioethanol production.