Abstract
Hydrolyzates produced by pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials contain phenolic and other organics that can be potent inhibitors for fermentation. We found that the application of polyethylene oxide (PEO) causes flocculation and rapid separation of lignin from the hydrolyzates, while preserving the carbohydrates in solution. Flocculation is measured by the turbidity and settling velocity changes. The maximum flocculation was found to depend on the dosage of the polymer, but was independent of the pH of the hydrolyzates (from 2 through 9). At temperatures below 21.5 � C flocculation was absent. The hemicellulose fraction in the supernatants was close to the raw extract showing that flocculation does not remove significant amount of fermentable sugars. Flocculation and clarification with PEO were also demonstrated on large pilot scale batches of 1000 kg of extracts with a 99.5% reduction in turbidity, from 12000 NTUs in the raw extract to 50 NTUs in the filtrate.
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