Sulphite addition during steam pretreatment enhanced both enzyme-mediated cellulose hydrolysis and ethanol production

Na Zhong, Richard Chandra, Minna Yamamoto, Timo Leskinen, Tom Granström, Jack Saddler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Sulphite addition during steam pretreatment of softwoods under acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions was assessed to try to minimize lignin condensation. Although pretreatment under neutral/alkaline conditions resulted in effective lignin sulphonation, non-uniform size reduction was observed. In contrast, acidic sulphite steam treatment at 210 °C for 10 min resulted in homogenous particle size reduction and water-insoluble component that was 62% carbohydrate and 33% lignin. This carbohydrate-rich substrate was readily hydrolyzed and fermented which indicated the lack of fermentation inhibitors in the steam-pretreated whole slurry. The use of high solid loading (25% w/v) resulted in a hydrolysis yield of 58% at an enzyme loading of 40 mg protein/g glucan and efficient fermentation (46.6 g/L of ethanol). This indicated that the addition of acidic sulphite at the steam pretreatment of softwoods improved both the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of steam-pretreated whole slurries. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Original languageEnglish
Article number71
JournalBioresources and bioprocessing
Volume9
Issue number1
Number of pages9
ISSN2197-4365
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Fields of Science

  • Acid steam pretreatment
  • Detoxification
  • Fermentation
  • High consistency hydrolysis
  • Sulphite steam pretreatment
  • Whole slurry
  • 116 Chemical sciences

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