Abstract: A method for producing an objective substance such as vanillin and vanillic acid is provided. An objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a microorganism that is able to produce the objective substance, which microorganism has been modified so that the activity of an enzyme involved in SAM cycle (SAM cycle enzyme) is increased.

Abstract: A controller is configured to execute an emission process of, on condition that the number of times a leakage diagnosis of a fuel tank is performed in a stop period from when an internal combustion engine stops to when the engine restarts is less than a predetermined allowable number of times, emitting gas from the fuel tank via a canister by opening a shut-off valve, execute a diagnosis process of performing the leakage diagnosis based on a change in index value, caused by the emission process, the index value indicating a pressure in the fuel tank, and execute a subtraction process of, when fuel has been fed to the fuel tank in a state where the shut-off valve is open in the stop period of the internal combustion engine, reducing the allowable number of times in the stop period in which fuel has been fed to the fuel tank.

Abstract: A refueling control system for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel tank; a vapor pipe; a step motor-driven shut-off valve; a fuel filler lid; and an electronic control unit configured to, when the fuel filler lid is to be opened, i) drive the shut-off valve such that the shut-off valve is opened, ii) close the fuel filler lid when an opening degree of the shut-off valve is less than a set opening degree, and iii) open the fuel filler lid when the opening degree of the shut-off valve is greater than or equal to the set opening degree. The electronic control unit sets the set opening degree such that the set opening degree when an opening speed of the shut-off valve is low is greater than the set opening degree when the opening speed of the shut-off valve is high.

Abstract: A method for producing an objective substance such as vanillin and vanillic acid is provided. An objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a microorganism having an objective substance-producing ability, which microorganism has been modified so that the activity of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase is increased.

Abstract: The evaporated fuel treatment device includes: a canister that adsorbs evaporated fuel generated within a fuel tank that is provided to a vehicle; a vapor passage that connects the canister and the fuel tank; a shutoff valve capable of closing off and opening up the vapor passage. When a specific event by which a current position of the shutoff valve becomes unknown occurs and initialization processing has become necessary, a first process is performed in which the shutoff valve is operated by a first operating amount that is set as an operating amount capable of operating the shutoff valve to an operation limit, irrespective of the current position, while, when the initialization processing has become necessary without the specific event occurring, a second process is performed in which the shutoff valve is operated by a second operating amount that is an operating amount from the current position to an initial position, and that is smaller than the first operating amount.

Abstract: An evaporative fuel treating apparatus includes: a canister; a vapor passage configured to cause a fuel tank to communicate with the canister; a closure valve including a valve disc arranged in the vapor passage and a stepping motor configured to open and close the valve disc; and a control device configured to control the closure valve. The control device is configured, in opening the valve disc to perform a pressure relief operation of the fuel tank, to: execute a flow rate estimation processing that calculates an estimated flow rate of gas passing through the closure valve, based on the absolute value of the amount of change of in-tank pressure of the fuel tank and a space volume inside the fuel tank; and execute a motor control processing that controls the number of steps of the stepping motor such that the estimated flow rate approaches a required flow rate.

Abstract: A vaporized fuel treatment device includes a sealing valve disposed in a vapor passage between a fuel tank and a canister. An ECU is programmed to decrease an internal pressure of the fuel tank by a pump via the canister so as to diagnose whether leakage occurs in the vapor passage in a state where the communication between the canister and the atmosphere is cut off and the sealing valve is opened. The ECU is programmed to execute a learning of a valve opening start position of the sealing valve based on a change in the internal pressure of the fuel tank when changing an axial distance between valve element and a valve seat when the internal pressure of the fuel tank is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value after a diagnosis of leakage in the vapor passage.

Abstract: A method is described for producing an objective substance, for example, an aldehyde such as vanillin. The objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a microorganism having an ability to produce the objective substance, wherein the microorganism has been modified to have a specific carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) gene, such as a Gordonia CAR gene, Novosphingobium CAR gene, or Coccomyxa CAR gene.

Abstract: A method for producing an objective substance such as vanillin and vanillic acid is provided. An objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a microorganism having an objective substance-producing ability, which microorganism has been modified so that the activity of enolase is reduced.

Abstract: A method for producing an objective substance such as vanillin and vanillic acid is provided. An objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a microorganism having an objective substance-producing ability, which microorganism has been modified so as to have a specific feature, such as a reduced activity of AICAR formyltransferase/IMP cyclohydrolase, an increased activity of 3-PGDH, and/or a reduced activity of L-serine deaminase.

Abstract: Both an improvement in detection accuracy of a valve opening position of a blocking valve and a reduction in time required for learning of the valve opening position are achieved. An evaporated fuel processing apparatus is provided with a learning device configured to learn the valve opening position of the blocking valve. The learning device learns the valve opening position (i) by stepwisely increasing a stroke amount by rotating a stepping motor by two steps at each time in a valve opening direction and (ii) by determining whether a difference between the stroke amount at present and the stroke amount corresponding to the valve opening position is one step of rotation of the stepping motor, or two steps, on the basis of pressure fluctuation on the canister side of the blocking valve associated with the rotation of the stepping motor when the blocking valve is opened, when learning the valve opening position.

Abstract: A method for producing benzaldehyde is provided. Benzaldehyde is produced from L-phenylalanine or a carbon source by using microorganism(s) having amino acid deaminase, 4-hydroxymandelate synthase, (S)-mandelate dehydrogenase, and benzoylformate decarboxylase.

Abstract: A refueling control system for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel tank; a vapor pipe; a step motor-driven shut-off valve; a fuel filler lid; and an electronic control unit configured to, when the fuel filler lid is to be opened, i) drive the shut-off valve such that the shut-off valve is opened, ii) close the fuel filler lid when an opening degree of the shut-off valve is less than a set opening degree, and iii) open the fuel filler lid when the opening degree of the shut-off valve is greater than or equal to the set opening degree. The electronic control unit sets the set opening degree such that the set opening degree when an opening speed of the shut-off valve is low is greater than the set opening degree when the opening speed of the shut-off valve is high.

Abstract: A vaporized fuel treatment device includes a sealing valve disposed in a vapor passage between a fuel tank and a canister and is configured to include a valve element moves forward and backward in an axial direction to a valve seat, a cut-off valve configured to cut off a communication between the canister and an atmosphere, a tank internal pressure sensor detects an internal pressure of the fuel tank, and a canister internal pressure sensor that detects an internal pressure of the canister, a controller programmed to change an axial distance between the valve element and the valve seat in a state where the cut-off valve cuts off the communication between the canister and the atmosphere and to learn a valve opening start position of the sealing valve based on changes in the internal pressures of the fuel tank and the canister depending on a change in the axial distance.

Abstract: An evaporated fuel treating device includes: a canister configured to adsorb evaporated fuel generated in a fuel tank through a vapor passage; a blocking valve configured to close and open the vapor passage, the blocking valve having a stepping motor as a drive source; and a controller configured to operate the blocking valve by controlling electric power that is supplied from a predetermined power supply to the blocking valve. The controller is configured, when there is a request to drive the blocking valve, to operate the blocking valve by controlling the electric power such that when a voltage that is supplied from the power supply to the blocking valve is less than a predetermined value, a driving period which is an interval between pulses that are supplied to the stepping motor becomes long compared to when the voltage is equal to or higher than the predetermined value.

Abstract: A method is provided for producing an objective substance, for example, an aromatic aldehyde such as vanillin. The objective substance is produced from a carbon source or a precursor of the objective substance by using a coryneform bacterium that is able to produce the objective substance, wherein bacterium has been modified so that the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase is reduced.

Abstract: An evaporated fuel treatment device executes a pressure reducing control while monitoring inner pressure of a fuel tank, so that when the inner pressure of the fuel tank exceeds a predetermined value prior to fueling to the fuel tank, pressure reduction progresses within a range that the flow rate of a vapor passage does not exceed the boundary flow rate where the vapor passage is closed by a valve element of an ORVR valve, and also a valve opening speed of the closing valve is made higher as the inner pressure of the fuel tank becomes lower.

Abstract: Both an improvement in detection accuracy of a valve opening position of a blocking valve and a reduction in time required for learning of the valve opening position are achieved. An evaporated fuel processing apparatus is provided with a learning device configured to learn the valve opening position of the blocking valve. The learning device learns the valve opening position (i) by stepwisely increasing a stroke amount by rotating a stepping motor by two steps at each time in a valve opening direction and (ii) by determining whether a difference between the stroke amount at present and the stroke amount corresponding to the valve opening position is one step of rotation of the stepping motor, or two steps, on the basis of pressure fluctuation on the canister side of the blocking valve associated with the rotation of the stepping motor when the blocking valve is opened, when learning the valve opening position.

Abstract: The evaporated fuel treatment device includes: a canister that adsorbs evaporated fuel generated within a fuel tank that is provided to a vehicle; a vapor passage that connects the canister and the fuel tank; a shutoff valve capable of closing off and opening up the vapor passage. When a specific event by which a current position of the shutoff valve becomes unknown occurs and initialization processing has become necessary, a first process is performed in which the shutoff valve is operated by a first operating amount that is set as an operating amount capable of operating the shutoff valve to an operation limit, irrespective of the current position, while, when the initialization processing has become necessary without the specific event occurring, a second process is performed in which the shutoff valve is operated by a second operating amount that is an operating amount from the current position to an initial position, and that is smaller than the first operating amount.

Abstract: An evaporated fuel processing apparatus is provided with an initializer configured to increase a step number with which a stepping motor is rotated in a valve closing direction, when there is an initialization request for the blocking valve and tank pressure of the fuel tank is in a predetermined pressure range near atmospheric pressure, in comparison with when the tank pressure is out of the predetermined pressure range.