Severity function describing the hydrolysis of xylan using carbonic acid

Influence of elevated pressure and pressurized fluids on microenvironment and activity of enzymes

Enzymes have great potential in bioprocess engineering due to their green and mild reaction conditions. However, there are challenges to their application, such as enzyme extraction and purification costs, enzyme recovery, and long reaction time. Enzymatic reaction rate enhancement and enzyme immobilization have the potential to overcome some of these challenges. Application of high pressure (e.g., hydrostatic pressure, supercritical carbon dioxide) has been shown to increase the activity of some enzymes, such as lipases and cellulases. Under high pressure, enzymes undergo multiple alterations simultaneously. High pressure reduces the bond lengths of molecules of reaction components and causes a reduction in the activation volume of enzyme-substrate complex. Supercritical CO2 interacts with enzyme molecules, catalyzes structural changes, and removes some water molecules from the enzyme's hydration layer. Interaction of scCO2 with the enzyme also leads to an overall change in secondary structure content. In the extreme, such changes may lead to enzyme denaturation, but enzyme activation and stabilization have also been observed. Immobilization of enzymes onto silica and zeolite-based supports has been shown to further stabilize the enzyme and provide resistance towards perturbation under subjection to high pressure and scCO2.

Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass in Hot-Compressed Water with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

This study investigated the decomposition behavior of bamboo under hydrothermal and hydrolysis conditions with H2O/CO2 in a semicontinuous-flow reactor at 9.8 MPa. At 255 °C, with and without CO2, xylan in bamboo completely decomposed into xylo-oligosaccharide (XOD). The yield of glucan degradation products with CO2 was significantly higher compared with that under the hydrothermal reaction (25.7 vs 14.9 wt %, respectively). The reaction rate of glucan decomposition with CO2 was slightly higher than the rate of hydrothermal reaction (k H2O/CO2 /k H2O = 1.3). Increasing the fluid velocity of the hydrothermal reaction (3-10 mL/min) significantly accelerated the solubilization rate, but the ultimate yield of the soluble fraction was unchanged. The ultimate yield of the soluble fraction was slightly affected by physical effects. Hydrolysis with CO2 under severe conditions exhibited effective degradation of glucan. The catalytic activity of the H2O/CO2 system under hydrolysis can be explained by the system's chemical effect.

High pressure systems as sustainable extraction and pre-treatment technologies for a holistic corn stover biorefinery

This mini-review assesses supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) extraction and high-pressure carbon dioxide pre-treatment technologies for valorisation of corn stover agricultural residues with particular focus on showing how these can aid in the creation of a holistic biorefineries. Corn stover is currently the largest source of agriculture residues in the USA, as such there is significant potential for exploitation to yield valuable chemicals. ScCO₂ extraction could lead to the recovery of a variety of different chemicals which include flavonoids, sterols, steroid ketones, hydrocarbons, saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, fatty alcohols, phenolics and triterpenoids. Importantly, recent studies have not only demonstrated that supercritical extraction can be utilized for the recovery of plant lipids for use in consumer products, including nutraceuticals and personal care, but the processing of treated biomass can lead to enhanced yields and recovery of other products from biorefinery processes. Despite the great potential and opportunities for using scCO₂ and high-pressure systems in a biorefinery context their real-world application faces significant challenges to overcome before it is widely applied. Such challenges have also been discussed in the context of this mini-review.

CO2 -Enabled Biomass Fractionation/Depolymerization: A Highly Versatile Pre-Step for Downstream Processing

Lignocellulosic biomass is inevitably subject to fractionation and depolymerization processes for enhanced selectivity toward specific products, in most cases prior to catalytic upgrading of the three main fractions-cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Among the developed pretreatment techniques, CO₂ -assisted biomass processing exhibits some unique advantages such as the lowest critical temperature (31.0 °C) with moderate critical pressure, low cost, nontoxicity, nonflammability, ready availability, and the addition of acidity, alongside easy recovery by pressure release. This Review showcases progress in the study of sub- or supercritical CO₂ -mediated thermal processing of lignocellulosic biomass-the key pre-step for downstream conversion processes. The auxo-action of CO₂ in biomass pretreatment and fractionation, along with the involved variables, direct degradation of untreated biomass in CO₂ by gasification, pyrolysis, and liquefaction with relevant conversion mechanisms, and CO₂ -enabled depolymerization of lignocellulosic fractions with representative reaction pathways are summarized. Moreover, future prospects for the practical application of CO₂ -assisted up- and downstream biomass-to-bioproduct conversion are also briefly discussed.

A novel acid catalyst based on super/subcritical CO2-enriched water for the efficient esterification of rosin

Rosin esters are widely applied as masticatory substances and beverage stabilizers, while classical acid-catalysed processes will lead to metal residue or environmental issues. Super/subcritical CO₂-enriched high temperature liquid water (HTLW) as a green acid catalyst in the esterification reaction of rosin with glycerol was investigated. The pH of CO₂-H₂O binary system, as calculated based on gas-liquid equilibrium, charge balance and chemical equilibrium equations, ranged from 3.49 to 3.70 depending on the reaction conditions, indicating effective acid catalysis. Response surface methodology experiments showed the optimum conditions were 3.5 h, 3.9 MPa CO₂ pressure, a rosin-to-glycerol molar ratio of 1.32 and 269°C, and an enhanced esterification yield of 94.74% was achieved, which was superior to that obtained using a ZnO catalyst. It was found that the esterification kinetics was a pseudo first-order reaction, and the enthalpy and entropy of activation were calculated using the Arrhenius-Polanyi equation. The presence of super/subcritical CO₂-enriched HTLW catalyst can decrease the activation energy and significantly accelerate the reaction rate.

Subcritical Water-Carbon Dioxide Pretreatment of Oil Palm Mesocarp Fiber for Xylooligosaccharide and Glucose Production

The present work aimed to investigate the pretreatment of oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) in subcritical H₂O-CO₂ at a temperature range from 150⁻200 °C and 20⁻180 min with CO₂ pressure from 3⁻5 MPa. The pretreated solids and liquids from this process were separated by filtration and characterized. Xylooligosaccharides (XOs), sugar monomers, acids, furans and phenols in the pretreated liquids were analyzed by using HPLC. XOs with a degree of polymerization X2⁻X4 comprising xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose were analyzed by using HPAEC-PAD. Enzymatic hydrolysis was performed on cellulose-rich pretreated solids to observe xylose and glucose production. An optimal condition for XOs production was achieved at 180 °C, 60 min, 3 MPa and the highest XOs obtained was 81.60 mg/g which corresponded to 36.59% of XOs yield from total xylan of OPMF. The highest xylose and glucose yields obtained from pretreated solids were 29.96% and 84.65%, respectively at cellulase loading of 10 FPU/g-substrate.

Subcritical carbon dioxide-water hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse pith for reducing sugars production

The aim of present study was to obtain total reducing sugars (TRS) by hydrolysis in subcritical CO₂-water from sugarcane bagasse pith (SCBP), the fibrous residue remaining after papermaking from sugarcane bagasse. The optimum hydrolysis conditions were evaluated by L₁₆(4⁵) orthogonal experiments. The TRS yield achieved 45.8% at the optimal conditions: 200°C, 40min, 500rmin^-1, CO₂ initial pressure of 1MPa and liquid-to-solid ratio of 50:1. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance were used to characterize hydrolysis liquor, treated and untreated SCBP, resulting in the removal of hemicelluloses to mainly produce xylose, glucose and arabinose during hydrolysis. The severity factors had no correlation to TRS yield, indicating that the simple kinetic processes of biomass solubilisation cannot perfectly describe the SCBP hydrolysis. The first-order kinetic model based on consecutive reaction was used to obtain rate constants, activation energies and pre-exponential factors.

High-pressure carbon dioxide/water pre-treatment of sugarcane bagasse and elephant grass: Assessment of the effect of biomass composition on process efficiency

The performance of two lignocellulosic biomasses was studied in high-pressure carbon dioxide/water pre-treatment. Sugarcane bagasse and elephant grass were used to produce C₅-sugars from hemicellulose and, simultaneously, to promote cellulose digestibility for enzymatic saccharification. Different pre-treatment conditions, with combined severity factor ranging from -1.17 to -0.04, were evaluated and maximal total xylan to xylose yields of 59.2wt.% (34.4wt.% xylooligomers) and 46.4wt.% (34.9wt.% xylooligomers) were attained for sugarcane bagasse and elephant grass, respectively. Furthermore, pre-treated biomasses were highly digestible, with glucan to glucose yields of 77.2mol% and 72.4mol% for sugarcane bagasse and elephant grass, respectively. High-pressure carbon dioxide/water pre-treatment provides high total C₅-sugars and glucose recovery from both lignocellulosic biomasses; however it is highly influenced by composition and intrinsic features of each biomass. The obtained results confirm this approach as an effective and greener alternative to conventional pre-treatment processes.

Current Pretreatment Technologies for the Development of Cellulosic Ethanol and Biorefineries

Lignocellulosic materials, such as forest, agriculture, and agroindustrial residues, are among the most important resources for biorefineries to provide fuels, chemicals, and materials in such a way to substitute for, at least in part, the role of petrochemistry in modern society. Most of these sustainable biorefinery products can be produced from plant polysaccharides (glucans, hemicelluloses, starch, and pectic materials) and lignin. In this scenario, cellulosic ethanol has been considered for decades as one of the most promising alternatives to mitigate fossil fuel dependence and carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere. However, a pretreatment method is required to overcome the physical and chemical barriers that exist in the lignin-carbohydrate composite and to render most, if not all, of the plant cell wall components easily available for conversion into valuable products, including the fuel ethanol. Hence, pretreatment is a key step for an economically viable biorefinery. Successful pretreatment method must lead to partial or total separation of the lignocellulosic components, increasing the accessibility of holocellulose to enzymatic hydrolysis with the least inhibitory compounds being released for subsequent steps of enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Each pretreatment technology has a different specificity against both carbohydrates and lignin and may or may not be efficient for different types of biomasses. Furthermore, it is also desirable to develop pretreatment methods with chemicals that are greener and effluent streams that have a lower impact on the environment. This paper provides an overview of the most important pretreatment methods available, including those that are based on the use of green solvents (supercritical fluids and ionic liquids).

Selective hydrolysis of wheat straw hemicellulose using high-pressure CO2 as catalyst

The use of high-pressure CO₂–H₂O as selective acid-catalysed hydrolysis of wheat straw enhances xylo-oligosaccharides yield compared to water-only reaction.

Laboratory-scale method for enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass at high-solids loadings

BACKGROUND

Screening new lignocellulosic biomass pretreatments and advanced enzyme systems at process relevant conditions is a key factor in the development of economically viable lignocellulosic ethanol. Shake flasks, the reaction vessel commonly used for screening enzymatic saccharifications of cellulosic biomass, do not provide adequate mixing at high-solids concentrations when shaking is not supplemented with hand mixing.

RESULTS

We identified roller bottle reactors (RBRs) as laboratory-scale reaction vessels that can provide adequate mixing for enzymatic saccharifications at high-solids biomass loadings without any additional hand mixing. Using the RBRs, we developed a method for screening both pretreated biomass and enzyme systems at process-relevant conditions. RBRs were shown to be scalable between 125 mL and 2 L. Results from enzymatic saccharifications of five biomass pretreatments of different severities and two enzyme preparations suggest that this system will work well for a variety of biomass substrates and enzyme systems. A study of intermittent mixing regimes suggests that mass transfer limitations of enzymatic saccharifications at high-solids loadings are significant but can be mitigated with a relatively low amount of mixing input.

CONCLUSION

Effective initial mixing to promote good enzyme distribution and continued, but not necessarily continuous, mixing is necessary in order to facilitate high biomass conversion rates. The simplicity and robustness of the bench-scale RBR system, combined with its ability to accommodate numerous reaction vessels, will be useful in screening new biomass pretreatments and advanced enzyme systems at high-solids loadings.

Effect of dissolved carbon dioxide on accumulation of organic acids in liquid hot water pretreated biomass hydrolyzates

Liquid hot water pretreatment has been proposed as a possible means of improving rates of enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass while maintaining low levels of inhibitory compounds. Supplementation of liquid hot water pretreatment with dissolved carbon dioxide, yielding carbonic acid, has been shown to improve hydrolysis of some biomass substrates compared with the use of water alone. Previous studies on the application of carbonic acid to biomass pretreatment have noted a higher pH of hydrolyzates treated with carbonic acid as compared with the samples prepared with water alone. This study has applied recently developed analytical methods to quantify the concentration of organic acids in liquid hot water pretreated hydrolyzates, prepared with and without the addition of carbonic acid. It was observed that the addition of carbon dioxide to liquid hot water pretreatment significantly changed the accumulated concentrations of most measured compounds. However, the measured differences in product concentrations resulting from addition of carbonic acid did not account for the measured differences in hydrolyzate pH.

Carbonic acid enhancement of hydrolysis in aqueous pretreatment of corn stover

Carbonic acid and liquid hot water pretreatments were applied to corn stover. Temperatures ranged from 180 to 220 degrees C; reaction times varied between 2 and 32 min and prereaction carbon dioxide pressure was either 0 or 800 psig. Over the range of reaction conditions tested, it was found that the presence of carbonic acid had an effect of increasing the concentrations of xylose and furan compounds in the hydrolysate that was significant at above the 99% confidence level. Thus there appears to be an increase in the severity of the pretreatment conditions with the presence of carbonic acid. These results are contrary to previously reported results on aspen wood, where the presence of carbonic acid was not found to have an effect on either the xylose or furan concentrations. Although pretreatment conditions were more severe with the addition of carbonic acid, the presence of carbonic acid resulted in a hydrolysate with a higher final pH. Thus it appears that the higher severity conditions reduce the accumulation of organic acids in the hydrolysate. This result was consistent with previously reported work on carbonic acid pretreatment of aspen wood.

Hydrolysis of Lactose in Whey Permeate for Subsequent Fermentation to Ethanol

Fermentation of lactose in whey permeate directly into ethanol has had only limited commercial success, as the yields and alcohol tolerances of the organisms capable of directly fermenting lactose are low. This study proposes an alternative strategy: treat the permeate with acid to liberate monomeric sugars that are readily fermented into ethanol. We identified optimum hydrolysis conditions that yield mostly monomeric sugars and limit formation of fermentation inhibitors such as hydroxymethyl furfural by caramelization reactions. Both lactose solutions and commercial whey permeates were hydrolyzed using inorganic acids and carbonic acid. In all cases, more glucose was consumed by secondary reactions than galactose. Galactose was recovered in approximately stoichiometric proportions. Whey permeate has substantial buffering capacity-even at high partial pressures (>5500 kPa[g]), carbon dioxide had little effect on the pH in whey permeate solutions. The elevated temperatures required for hydrolysis with CO2-generated inhibitory compounds through caramelization reactions. For these reasons, carbon dioxide was not a feasible acidulant. With mineral acids reversion reactions dominated, resulting in a stable amount of glucose released. However, the Maillard browning reactions also appeared to be involved. By applying Hammet's acidity function, kinetic data from all experiments were described by a single line. With concentrated inorganic acids, low reaction temperatures allowed lactose hydrolysis with minimal by-product formation and generated a hexose-rich solution amenable to fermentation.