A process for producing a fuel from a softwood. A feedstock containing softwood is pretreated, where the pretreating includes heating the feedstock in a pretreatment liquor containing sulfur dioxide and bisulfite salt. The heating is conducted between 110° C. and 160° C. The pretreatment liquor has a sulfur dioxide concentration that is greater than 6.5 wt % on liquor and a pH at 25° C. that is less than 1.3. The cellulose in the pretreated material is hydrolysed to glucose. The glucose may be fermented to a fermentation product such as ethanol.

A process for producing a fuel from a softwood. A feedstock containing softwood is pretreated, where the pretreating includes heating the feedstock in a pretreatment liquor containing sulfur dioxide and bisulfite salt. The heating is conducted between 110° C. and 160° C. The pretreatment liquor has a sulfur dioxide concentration that is greater than 6.5 wt % on liquor and a pH at 25° C. that is less than 1.3. The cellulose in the pretreated material is hydrolysed to glucose. The glucose may be fermented to a fermentation product such as ethanol.

A method or producing amino sugar (containing) products using metabolically engineered microorganisms is disclosed, wherein the conversion of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine to cell envelope precursors and molecules is reduced by altering the activity of enzymes involved in the synthesis of cell envelope precursors and molecules.

A process for producing a bio-based surfactant comprising an alkyl disulphate salt comprises the steps of methanolysis of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (mcl-PHA) to provide hydroxy fatty acid methyl ester monomers (HFAME's), reduction of the HFAME's to provide 1,3 alkyl diols, sulphation of the 1,3 alkyl diols to provide 1,3 alkyl disulphates, and neutralisation of the alkyl disulphates to provide a bio-based surfactant comprising 1,3 alkyl disulphate salt. A bio-based surfactant comprising a mixture of medium chain length 1,3 alkyl disulphate salts is also described.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for bio-assisted treatment of spent caustic obtained from hydrocarbon and gas processing installations. The present invention also relates to method for recovery of caustic and recovery of sulfur from spent caustic. According to present invention, the sulfide removal is about 96% and the sulphur formation and deposition on the electrode lies in range of 72±8%.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for bio-assisted treatment of spent caustic obtained from hydrocarbon and gas processing installations. The present invention also relates to method for recovery of caustic and recovery of sulfur from spent caustic. According to present invention, the sulfide removal is about 96% and the sulphur formation and deposition on the electrode lies in range of 72±8%.

An amino acid sequence of the monooxygenase mutant is obtained by mutation of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, and the mutation at least includes one of the following mutation sites: 45-th site, 95-th site, 106-th site, 108-th site, 114-th site, 186-th site, 190-th site, 191-th site, 249-th site, 257-th site, 393-th site, 436-th site, 499-th site, 500-th site, 501-th site, 503-th site, 504-th site, 559-th site, and 560-th site.

An amino acid sequence of the monooxygenase mutant is obtained by mutation of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, and the mutation at least includes one of the following mutation sites: 45-th site, 95-th site, 106-th site, 108-th site, 114-th site, 186-th site, 190-th site, 191-th site, 249-th site, 257-th site, 393-th site, 436-th site, 499-th site, 500-th site, 501-th site, 503-th site, 504-th site, 559-th site, and 560-th site.

A monooxygenase having an amino acid sequence obtained by mutation of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 is disclosed. The use of the monooxygenase of the present invention in production of chiral sulfoxide-based drugs has advantages including mild reaction conditions, environmental friendliness, high yield, high optical purity of products, less peroxide products, and the like, and therefore the monooxygenase in the present invention has a good industrial application prospect in the production of proton pump inhibitors for the treatment of gastric ulcers.

Herein is reported a method for the enzymatic production of a thioester comprising incubating i) a first polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence LPXTG (SEQ ID NO: 01, wherein X can be any amino acid residue), ii) a second polypeptide that has at its N-terminus a cysteine amino acid residue or is a cysteinyl compound, and iii) a third polypeptide with sortase A activity.