The present invention provides a method of reducing and controlling a hazardous substance in a process of high-value biological conversion of an urban organic waste. The method includes: 1) mixing a sludge, a first urban organic waste and an organic acid with water for acclimation to obtain an acclimatized sludge; 2) stage 1 of biological conversion: mixing the acclimatized sludge with a second urban organic waste to perform anaerobic culture; 3) stage 2 of biological conversion: adding nitrate and bacteria to continue anaerobic culture so as to obtain an organic acid. In the present invention, sludge microbes are acclimatized and then added to high-value chemicals such as acetic acid, propanoic acid and lactic acid prepared in biological conversion of the urban organic waste and then added with bacteria. Thus, by controlling pH value, microbe addition amount and nitrate concentration, the unfavorable effect of the antibiotics and heavy metal ions.

Disclosed herein are probiotic bacterial strains or species that produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as butyrate, and compositions comprising the same. The bacterial strains or compositions prepared thereby are used in preparing food, supplements, compositions, and other consumables to provide health benefits, including therapeutic applications, for a variety of disorders, including metabolic, immune, intestinal, and inflammatory disorders. Thus, also disclosed herein are methods of treating a subject suffering from a disorder, such as a metabolic disorder, an immune disorder, an intestinal disorder, or an inflammatory disorder with a composition comprising the probiotic bacterial strains or species disclosed herein. Uses of a bacterial strain or species and a composition comprising them provided in a nutritional product or medicament to improve health or prevent or treat a variety of disorders in a subject are also disclosed.

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. Systems, methods and equipment are described for upgrading process streams using electrodialysis or electrodialysis reversal.

A process for converting a biomass material comprising a) converting a biomass material in one or more steps into one or more C3-C12 oxygenates; b) contacting the one or more C3-C12 oxygenates with hydrogen at a hydrogen partial pressure of more than 1.0 MegaPascal in the presence of a sulphided carbon-carbon coupling catalyst; wherein the carbon-carbon coupling catalyst comprises equal to or more than 60 wt % of a zeolite and in the range from equal to or more than 0.1% wt to equal to or less than 10 wt % of a hydrogenation metal, based on the total weight of the carbon-carbon coupling catalyst.

A process for converting a biomass material comprising a) converting a biomass material in one or more steps into one or more C3-C12 oxygenates; b) contacting the one or more C3-C12 oxygenates with hydrogen at a hydrogen partial pressure of more than 1.0 MegaPascal in the presence of a sulphided carbon-carbon coupling catalyst; wherein the carbon-carbon coupling catalyst comprises equal to or more than 60 wt % of a zeolite and in the range from equal to or more than 0.1% wt to equal to or less than 10 wt % of a hydrogenation metal, based on the total weight of the carbon-carbon coupling catalyst.

The present invention relates to polypeptides having mannanase activity, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules, and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules.

The present invention relates to polypeptides having mannanase activity, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules, and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides, catalytic domains, and carbohydrate binding modules.

The invention relates to a micro-organism comprising a hydrogenase enzyme system which is capable of converting carbon dioxide into formic acid and a second enzyme system which is capable of converting formic acid into aliphatic carboxylic acids having a chain length of five or more carbon atoms. Also described are various methods for producing oil, as well as other aspects of the invention.

The invention relates to a micro-organism comprising a hydrogenase enzyme system which is capable of converting carbon dioxide into formic acid and a second enzyme system which is capable of converting formic acid into aliphatic carboxylic acids having a chain length of five or more carbon atoms. Also described are various methods for producing oil, as well as other aspects of the invention.

Bacteria are genetically engineered to produce 3-hydroxypropionate (3-HP). The bacteria are carboxydotrophic acetogens. The bacteria produce acetyl-coA using the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway for fixing CO/CO.sub.2. A malonyl-coA reductase from a bacterium that contains such an enzyme is introduced. Additionally, an acetyl-coA carboxylase may also be introduced The production of 3-HP can be improved by overproduction of acetyl-CoA carboxylase or by overproduction of biotin. This can be effected by improved promoters or higher copy number or enzymes that are catalytically more efficient.