In-situ detoxification and enhanced oxygen mass transfer for C5 sugar acid production from corncob hemicellulose hydrolysates using activated carbon particles

Abstract

In this work, an easily implemented and cost-effective activated carbon (AC) enhanced technique was proposed for C5 sugar acid production from corncob hemicellulose hydrolysates. The optimum AC detoxification conditions were obtained by response surface methodology, and the fermentation kinetics behaviors were comparatively evaluated using two fermentation modes: separate detoxification and fermentation (SDF) and in-situ detoxification and fermentation (In-situDF). An investigation of the AC function demonstrates it offers synchronous detoxification and oxygen transfer enhancement, with a final increase of XA fermentation yield and productivity. This study shows a potential of detoxification and oxygen transfer enhancement in one-pot in C5 sugar acid production, which may smooth the way for commercial utilization of C5 sugars from lignocellulosic biomass in the future.