MOF sorbent boosts bioethanol production

Abstract

A porous metal-organic framework sorbent could boost the efficiency of ethanol production from cellulosic biomass by trapping compounds that inhibit fermentation, according to a study (Chem. Commun. 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c6cc05864g). Woody plants and grasses hold enormous supplies of cellulose, from which ethanol can be produced via fermentation of sugars extracted from the plant materials. This route to ethanol production currently generates hundreds of millions of liters of the renewable fuel annually, a value that is expected to climb. Extracting the sugars from biomass requires breaking down the plant material, which is notoriously recalcitrant. Biofuel manufacturers typically rely on harsh acid treatments to do that job. The process works well, but it generates aqueous sugar solutions contaminated with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and other furanics. Those compounds are toxic to the organisms that do the fermentation and thereby limit the process efficiency. They are also tough to separate from sugar s...