Rheological and structural properties of sugarcane bagasse and wheat bran mixtures used for solid state cultivation

Abstract

This project aims at the experimental determination of rheological properties and structural of sugarcane bagasse mixtures and wheat bran, commonly employed in solid-state cultivation (SSC) to obtain enzymes of interest of second generation ethanol. Such properties are important for the bioreactors development and are little explored in the literature.Compression modulus, porosity and pore diameter properties will be determined for systems with and without reaction as a function of the initial sample moisture and cultivation time, when that happen. For the porosity determination will be employed the digital image processing method for sugarcane bagasse mixtures and wheat bran of varying proportions grown by the fungus Myceliophtora thermophila I-1D3b over 96h at 45 ° C. The crops will be carried out in PVC cylinders and the colony surface will be photographed to evaluate the pore occupation kinetics by the mycelium. For unreacted systems, the solid will be dyed with Rhodamine B, placed in a PVC tube and then immobilized with carrageenan gel solution. After gel solidification, for porosity and pore size analysis, the sample will be sliced and the discs photographed. The photos will be analyzed using software specific for image analysis. Compression analyzes will be performed by placing samples in PVC tubes under conditions similar to those described for porous medium structure. The samples will be analyzed in texturometer in tests of double compression.This work complements Marianny Silva Canedo's phd thesis, PPG-ECA IBILCE/UNESP student. The results will be of importance for the models proposition for SSC bioreactors in general and for drum bioreactor operation rotary in particular. (AU)