A method for treating biomass including lignocellulosic polymers. The biomass is treated in a mixture of water with at least one oxidizing agent and steam at a temperature in a range of from about 130° C. to about 220° C. for a period from about 5 seconds to about 10 hours. The pH of the mixture is periodically measured for substantially an entire duration of the treating step. As necessary, based on the measured pH of the mixture, adjusting the pH of the mixture into a range of from about pH 4.5 to about pH 7.5 by adding a base to the mixture.

The disclosure relates to the system comprising a combination of a primary bioreactor with a secondary bioreactor to convert a gaseous stream comprising CO and optionally H.sub.2, or CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 to at least one target product. Bioreactors may be any combination of aerobic and anaerobic, batch and continuous. The bioreactors comprise fermenting microorganisms that may typically be bacterial or fungal.

The present disclosure provides a method of preparing a high density culture of bacteria. The method provides a bioreactor comprising a fermentation tank, a perfusion system, a medium, and a cell separator; preparing an inoculum comprising a bacteria consortia with at least two bacteria species; inoculating the fermentation tank with the inoculum to form a fermentation culture; and growing the bacteria consortia until it has reached a target density of at least about 10.sup.12 CFU/mL.

A method for producing methane by biological conversion of carbon dioxide is performed using a symbiosis between one or more methane-generating bacteria and: (i) one or more hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or (ii) one or more sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, wherein the hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or the sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, produce the molecular hydrogen required for the conversion of carbon dioxide into methane performed by the methane-generating bacteria.

A method for producing methane by biological conversion of carbon dioxide is performed using a symbiosis between one or more methane-generating bacteria and: (i) one or more hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or (ii) one or more sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, wherein the hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or the sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, produce the molecular hydrogen required for the conversion of carbon dioxide into methane performed by the methane-generating bacteria.

The invention provides genetically engineered microorganisms and methods for the production of a product by a two-step fermentation process. In particular, the present invention relates to production of an intermediate by microbial fermentation of a gaseous substrate followed by conversion of the intermediate to a final product through microbial fermentation of a carbohydrate substrate.

The invention provides genetically engineered microorganisms and methods for the production of a product by a two-step fermentation process. In particular, the present invention relates to production of an intermediate by microbial fermentation of a gaseous substrate followed by conversion of the intermediate to a final product through microbial fermentation of a carbohydrate substrate.

Disclosed herein is a method of microbial enhanced oil recovery by changing microbial motility, including: subjecting a viable Glycocaulis strain and the alkane-degrading Dietzia strain to contact culture to enable the alkane-degrading Dietzia strain to have motility. This application also provides a method for microbial enhanced oil recovery, including: subjecting a viable Glycocaulis strain and the alkane-degrading Dietzia strain to contact culture to enable the alkane-degrading Dietzia strain to have motility; and injecting the contact culture mixture of the viable Glycocaulis strain and the alkane-degrading Dietzia strain to an oil well to perform microbial enhanced oil recovery.

The present invention relates to an inoculum of microbial consortium containing live microorganisms. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel enviro-tolerant methane-producing microbial consortium and a method for the production of biogas having high methane content from organic wastes and biomass slurries. The microbial consortium disclosed in the present invention produces stable biogas production without any seasonal variation impact.

A fusion chimeric protein is described herein that can assemble a functional carboxysome core, which is able to fix carbon by taking atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into useful carbon-containing compounds such as 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA).