Abstract
This work explores the utilization of wood for high-value production of novel alcoholic brews and liquors with natural flavors. The process capitalizes on our original wet-type bead milling (WBM) technology that enables direct enzymatic saccharification and alcohol fermentation of wood without chemical and heat treatment, resulting in the absence of toxic compounds. When alcohol-based products from various wood species, including Cryptomeria japonica (cedar), Cerasus × yedoensis (cherry), and Betula platyphylla (birch), were analyzed by SPME-GC-MS, different natural flavor components were found in each. Correlation analysis using Heracles NEO and ASTREE V5 showed that the alcohols from wood have different flavor and taste characteristics when compared with those of existing commercial liquors. From pilot-scale experiments, the yield of alcoholic brew per biomass amount was determined. Pilot-scale runs established the importance of optimum wood particle size during WBM for efficient alcohol production. Although the alcohol produced from wood must first be established as safe for human consumption, this is the first description of drinking alcohols produced from wood. This work may open up important avenues for the exploitation of wood resources toward food production to further advance the current state of forestry.
Highlights
Used since ancient times as a raw material for construction, woodwork, pulp, and paper, wood is an important biomass
We have developed a wet-type bead milling (WBM) technology that applies commercial bead mills used in colored ink production and precious metal mining as a pretreatment technique for wood
We have developed a simultaneous enzymatic sacchari cation and comminution (SESC) technology that combines the WBM process with enzymatic sacchari cation by including cellulase and hemi-cellulase in the WBM process for industrial applications.[3,4]
Summary
Used since ancient times as a raw material for construction, woodwork, pulp, and paper, wood is an important biomass. Sustainable green energy technologies have been developed for producing alcohols from wood for fuels.[1] because the process of producing alcohol from wood involves chemical and heat treatment, it is difficult to scale up, given its environmental impact and high cost.[2]. We have developed a wet-type bead milling (WBM) technology that applies commercial bead mills used in colored ink production and precious metal mining as a pretreatment technique for wood. The WBM process allows direct enzymatic sacchari cation by grinding the wood in water to efficiently expose the cellulose and hemicellulose packed in the cell walls of the wood without heat or chemical treatment. We have developed a simultaneous enzymatic sacchari cation and comminution (SESC) technology that combines the WBM process with enzymatic sacchari cation by including cellulase and hemi-cellulase in the WBM process for industrial applications.[3,4] We have previously reported that SESC technology can be used to obtain a sugar solution and unmodi ed lignin
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