Separation and recovery of lignin from hydrolysates of lignocellulose with a polymeric adsorbent

Inhibitor formation and detoxification during lignocellulose biorefinery: A review

For lignocellulose biorefinery, pretreatment is needed to maximize the cellulose accessibility, frequently generating excess inhibitory substances to decline the efficiency of the subsequent fermentation processes. This mini-review updates the current research efforts to detoxify the adverse impacts of generated inhibitors on the performance of biomass biorefinery. The lignocellulose pretreatment processes are first reviewed. The generation of inhibitors, furans, furfural, phenols, formic acid, and acetic acid, from the lignocellulose, with their action mechanisms, are listed. Then the detoxification processes are reviewed, from which the biological detoxification processes are noted as promising and worth further study. The challenges and prospects for applying biological detoxification in lignocellulose biorefinery are outlined. Integrated studies considering the entire biorefinery should be performed on a case-by-case basis.

Deep eutectic solvent with bifunctional Brønsted-Lewis acids for highly efficient lignocellulose fractionation

Green and low cost deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are promising to replace the solid acids and ionic liquids in biomass fractionation process. To enhance the lignocellulose pretreatment efficiency, an acidic DES that composed of Brønsted acid (ZnCl₂) as hydrogen bond acceptor and Lewis acid (lactic acid) as hydrogen bond donator was designed. This bifunctional DES was used for the extraction of lignin from poplar sawdust. Under the optimal pretreatment condition, the ZnCl₂-lactic acid DES could recover 95.2 wt% of lignin with a purity of 92.1%. The recovered lignin demonstrated a low polydispersity of 1.67 and small amount of β-aryl-ethers. Moreover, the acidic DES had a good recyclability and reusability. Such performance was attributed to the presence of bifunctional acid sites, which help selectively cleave lignin-carbohydrate complex linkages. The acidity and polarity of Brønsted acid can be modulated by the Lewis acid, thus synergistically promote the lignin extraction and production.

Demonstration and Assessment of Purification Cascades for the Separation and Valorization of Hemicellulose from Organosolv Beechwood Hydrolyzates

Hemicellulose and its derivatives have a high potential to replace fossil-based materials in various high-value-added products. Within this study, two purification cascades for the separation and valorization of hemicellulose and its derived monomeric sugars from organosolv beechwood hydrolyzates (BWHs) were experimentally demonstrated and assessed. Purification cascade 1 included hydrothermal treatment for converting remaining hemicellulose oligomers to xylose and the purification of the xylose by nanofiltration. Purification cascade 2 included the removal of lignin by adsorption, followed by ultrafiltration for the separation and concentration of hemicellulose. Based on the findings of the experimental work, both cascades were simulated on an industrial scale using Aspen Plus®. In purification cascade 1, 63% of the oligomeric hemicellulose was hydrothermally converted to xylose and purified by nanofiltration to 7.8 t/h of a xylose solution with a concentration of 200 g/L. In purification cascade 2, 80% of the lignin was removed by adsorption, and 7.6 t/h of a purified hemicellulose solution with a concentration of 200 g/L was obtained using ultrafiltration. The energy efficiency of the cascades was 59% and 26%, respectively. Furthermore, the estimation of specific production costs showed that xylose can be recovered from BWH at the cost of 73.7 EUR/t and hemicellulose at 135.1 EUR/t.

Synergistic effect of the activated carbon addition from leather wastes in chitosan/alginate-based composites

In this work, chitosan/alginate composites were developed by the gelation method with the addition of different amounts of activated carbon produced from tannery waste (ACTW). The performance of these composites was verified through the adsorption of the textile dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR). A synergistic effect was observed by the addition of ACTW; with a specific surface area up to 45.584 m²/g, the maximum adsorption capacity was 300.96 mg/g. The synergy was due to the reduction in steric hindrance, with the adsorption capacity 1.2 times higher than expected. The material was regenerated with sodium hydroxide for 10 cycles. The composite containing 30% ACTW (AC30) was applied in the treatment of real textile effluent, with 30% reductions in the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), 39% in the chemical oxygen demand (COD), 78% in turbidity, and 67% in color.

Adsorption Study of Lignin Removal from Recycled Alkali Black Liquor by Adsorption Resins for Improved Cellulase Hydrolysis of Corn Straw

Previous studies showed that aromatic compounds such as lignin, phenols, and furans were main inhibitors of cellulase hydrolysis in recycled alkali black liquor (RBL), which should be removed to improve alkali utilization. In this study, three polymeric resins, XAD-4, XAD-16N, and XAD-7HP, were evaluated for their abilities to remove lignin from alkali black liquor recycled at the third time. Adsorption conditions of adsorbent dose and equilibrium time, isotherms, and kinetics were investigated. Of three tested adsorbents, XAD-16N was the most efficient, which can remove 89.84% of lignin after adsorption at an adsorbent-to-solution ratio of 1:4 for 2.5 h. Pseudo-second-order model was efficient to represent XAD-16N and XAD-7HP adsorption kinetics. Adsorption behavior of XAD-4 on RBL was fitted better to Langmuir model, while XAD-16N and XAD-7HP adsorption were more consistent with Freundlich model. The cellulase hydrolysis rate of corn straw treated with RBL after XAD-16N adsorption combined with ozone was 86.89%, which was only 0.89% lower than that of sodium hydroxide combined with ozone treatment. Structure characterization proved that the damage of XAD-16N adsorbed RBL to corn straw was similar to that of sodium hydroxide. It indicated that adsorption was effective in inhibitor removal from RBL to improve alkali utilization.

Hemicellulose Recovery from Spent-Sulfite-Liquor: Lignin Removal by Adsorption to Resins for Improvement of the Ultrafiltration Process

In this work, three polymeric resins were examined as alternatives for the separation of hemicellulose and lignin. The aim was to remove the lignin from spent-sulfite-liquor (SSL) prior to ultrafiltration, producing a hemicellulose-rich retentate with high purity, and increase the capacity of the membrane filtration. The lignin in the SSL was sulfonated; thus, two of the resins were anion exchangers and 1 was hydrophobic. The data from the equilibrium studies and adsorption kinetics were fitted to established models, and the results were interpreted based on these observations. The strongly basic anion exchanger performed best with regard to lignin removal. The adsorption followed the Sips isotherm, indicating that the process was cooperative with chemisorption as the main reaction between the adsorbate and adsorbent based on the kinetics. Regeneration of the adsorbent was also possible, wherein 100 g/L NaCl was sufficient to recover 98% of the lignin. The lignin removal had a positive effect on the ultrafiltration process, in which the flux increased by 38% and the extent of separation between the hemicellulose and lignin rose from 17% to 59%.

Chromatographic Recovery of Monosaccharides and Lignin from Lignocellulosic Hydrolysates

The chromatographic recovery of monosaccharides and lignin from lignocellulosic hydrolysates was studied at laboratory and pilot scale. A weak cation-exchange resin in sodium form and a water eluent gave good separation efficiency. Scale-dependent phenomena, especially viscous fingering resulting from the large viscosity and density differences between the hydrolysate feed and eluent, were observed. The issue was resolved in the pilot scale with appropriate selection of the flow direction, and a high productivity was achieved at 95 % recovery yield. The pH value of the feed was found to have no effect on the actual separation; however, the resin was significantly less colored at a higher pH value.