Switchgrass is a potential source of renewable biomass for conversion to liquid biofuels. Efficient conversion requires effective strategies for pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification to produce fermentable sugars. Standard analysis of fermentation liquids includes detection of monosaccharides and ethanol to determine efficiency of conversion. Larger components, specifically oligosaccharid...

One key barrier to converting woody biomass to biofuel through the sugar platform is the low efficiency of enzymatic cellulose saccharification due to the strong recalcitrance of the crystalline cellulose. Significant past research efforts in cellulosic biofuels have focused on overcoming the recalcitrance of lignocelluloses to enhance the saccharification of the recalcitrant cellulose. However...

Sugarcane processing generates a large volume of bagasse. Disposal of bagasse is critical for both agricultural profitability and environmental protection. Sugarcane bagasse is a renewable resource that can be used to produce ethanol and many other value-added products. In this study, we demonstrate that cane processed bagasse could be used to produce fuel grade ethanol without saccharification...

BACKGROUND Biomass recalcitrance and plant lodging are two complex traits that tightly associate with plant cell wall structure and features. Although genetic modification of plant cell walls can potentially reduce recalcitrance for enhancing biomass saccharification, it remains a challenge to maintain a normal growth with enhanced biomass yield and lodging resistance in transgenic plants. Sucr...

The recent discovery that impregnation with a carbocation scavenger may improve the enzymatic saccharification of steam-exploded softwood has brought softwood-based biorefinery closer to reality. However, nature effect remains unresolved, and its impact on process efficiency product quality in high-dry matter reactions underexplored. Here, we show 2-naphthol enables complete spruce cellulose by...

It is well established that pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass required to achieve an effective enzymatic saccharification process. At the present time, most touted pre-treatment technologies would cause environmental pollution and unsustainable water use for pretreated material prior saccharification. To address these shortcomings, technology which combines supercritical CO2, SC-CO2 (a gr...

Sugar beet pulp, a byproduct of sugar beet processing, can be used as a feedstock in second-generation ethanol production. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of pretreatment, of the dosage of cellulase and hemicellulase enzyme preparations used, and of aeration on the release of fermentable sugars and ethanol yield during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (S...

Laboratory mechanical softwood pulps (MSP) and commercial bleached softwood kraft pulps (BSKP) were mechanically fibrillated by stone grinding with a SuperMassColloider . The extent of fibrillation was evaluated by SEM imaging, water retention value (WRV) and cellulase adsorption. Both lignin content and mechanical treatment significantly affected deconstruction and enzymatic saccharification o...

Lignin is a major component of the secondary cell walls of vascular plants, and an obstacle in the conversion of plant cell wall polysaccharides into biofuels. Erianthus spp. are large gramineous plants of interest as potential energy sources. However, lignocelluloses of Erianthus spp. have not been chemically characterized. In this study, we analysed lignins, related compounds, enzymatic sacch...

As an immerging lignocellulose pretreatment strategy, cellulose solventbased pretreatment can break down interand intra-molecular hydrogen bonds and disrupt the rigid structure of cellulose. Two cellulose solvent pretreatments were examined and compared in this study: NaOH/urea and concentrated phosphoric acid. Pretreated corn stover substrates were characterized by optical microscopy, confocal...