High Solid Loading Research Articles

One-pot generation of lignin microspheres and digestible substrate with a polyol-DES pretreatment in high solid loading

Previous lignin microspheres (LMS) preparation needs multiple steps with very low yield and high cost. Herein, we developed a high-solid deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment for an effective lignin fractionation and enzymatic saccharification of moso bamboo under mild temperature (110 °C) with high-solid loading. Lignin was significantly removed from the plant cell wall, and cellulose properties (e.g., crystallinity and degree of polymerization) were also altered during the pretreatment. As a result, the enzymatic digestibility of the pretreated bamboo was dramatically increased. Uniform micro-spherical lignin was directly produced from the pretreatment system, and its particle size could be regulated by controlling the solid loadings and pretreatment temperatures. The lignin microspheres formation mechanism was investigated by analyzing the lignin's size distribution, molecular weight distribution, chemical structure, and hydrophobicity. The DES showed excellent recyclability, and the recycled DES could still remove 42.78% lignin even after 7th circulation associated with 100% glucan saccharification. The mass balance based on 1000 g biomass showed that 196.28 g LMS was directly recovered, which exhibited a high RhB adsorption. Besides, 404.91 g glucose and 36.67 g xylose were obtained after the enzymatic saccharification process. Specifically, GAPI analysis exhibited a near total green and yellow portions of the pictogram, indicating our DES process was green enough to make this biorefinery sustainable. Overall, the proposed DES generated synergistic productions of digestible solid and LMS which could contribute to establish a green and sustainable biorefinery sequence with diverse outputs in one pot.

Radial flow tubular membrane bioreactor for enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic waste biomass

A tubular membrane bioreactor was used for enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of waste biomass, palm date seeds. The bioreactor successfully handled high solid loadings with effective simultaneous product removal. The effects of substrate concentrations, 14.3, 21.4, and 39.6 g/L, and water flowrates, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 mL/min, on the production of total reducing sugars were examined. At substrate concentration of 21.4 g/L, the total reducing sugars yield increased from 28.9 % to 42.7 % after 8 h as the water flowrate increased from 0.4 to 1.2 mL/min. Substrate inhibition was observed at the highest tested substrate concentration of 39.6 g/L. A dynamic model was developed to describe the designed bioreactor, accounting for the simultaneous product separation and the dynamic changes in substrate structure. The nonhydrolyzable substrate fraction parameter was found to significantly affect the model prediction. The novel membrane bioreactor and the developed model enable the industrial valorization of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production.

Techno-economic assessment and life cycle assessment of three potential pathways for biomass liquefaction

Biomass liquefaction can enhance corn-stover slurry transportation by reducing yield stress and overall viscosity, easing biomass handling, especially for slurries at high solids loading (≥30 % (w/v). Implementing a liquefaction process at the front-end of the biorefinery could reduce downtime caused by equipment fouling. Furthermore, liquefaction reduces process complexity by transforming high fiber mass into a pumpable slurry. Three scenarios for liquefaction of corn stover pellets: enzyme process, enzyme mimetic process, and a combined process of enzyme and enzyme mimetic were assessed.The ideal process will have the best performance-to-cost ratio, with minimal impact on the environment. Techno-economic and life-cycle analyses were used to understand the economic and environmental effects of the three liquefaction scenarios and to determine if one or more can achieve cost parity. Results show that the enzyme process had the best performance in terms of cost and emissions (gCO2-equivalent/kg slurry) compared to the other scenarios.

Model-based process intensification of dilute acid pre-hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch biomass for pretreatment and furfural production

A novel process for simultaneous production of furfural and pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) by dilute acid pre-hydrolysis was developed based on non-isothermal kinetic modeling. Mass transfer analysis suggested that the internal diffusion could be neglected as diffusion time of sulfuric acid in EFB particles was significantly shorter than the pre-hydrolysis period, whereas the heating stage could not be neglected due to a significant part of xylan was solubilized at the stage. A strategy for increasing furfural yield was developed by intermittent discharging of steam, resulting in 71.4 % furfural yield. The pretreated solids showed good enzymatic digestibility. 136.3 g/L glucose corresponding to 81.6 % yield was obtained by high-solid loading hydrolysis. 95.4 g furfural and 212 g glucose could be obtained from 1 kg dry EFB. Therefore, non-isothermal effects on polysaccharide hydrolysis and pentose decomposition should be considered carefully for an efficient process design of EFB biorefining.

Enhanced enzymolysis and bioethanol yield from tobacco stem waste based on mild synergistic pretreatment

The use of mild pretreatment conditions can significantly lower the cost of the biorefining process. This study evaluated a mild pretreatment approach for tobacco stem waste using a combination of dilute acid and dilute alkali. By optimizing the pretreatment conditions, we obtained a high reducing sugar concentration at a pretreatment temperature <100°C. Increasing the acid or alkali strength in a single pretreatment step did not always improve the result; instead, the synergistic effect of both pretreatment components was important. To increase the bioethanol titer, a high solid loading, 30%, was used for bioethanol fermentation. Compared with batch fermentation, enzyme feeding with a shorter feeding period (24 h) enhanced the bioethanol production by 4.32%, generating 86.88 g/L bioethanol. The results provide valuable insights into the effects of two-step acid/alkali pretreatment on enzymolysis. The findings suggest that the optimized synergistic pretreatment process is efficient for bioethanol fermentation.

Intensification of enzymatic saccharification at high solid loading of pretreated agave bagasse at bioreactor scale

Enzymatic saccharification of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass is a key step in the biochemical biorefineries. To be economically practical for large-scale use, the process must be run at high solids loadings, notably biomass concentrations of more than 15 % (w/v). However, as the solids loading increases, biomass develops a high-viscosity slurry that is severely mass transfer constrained and more difficult to mix, which restricts the addition of even more solids. Using a commercial enzyme mixture of cellulases and hemicellulases, high solid loading hydrolysis of hydrothermally and CO2-H2O pretreated agave bagasse was carried out in a continuous stirred tank bioreactor (CSTBR) and horizontal bioreactor (HB) to generate high glucose concentrations. With complete saccharification of 100 %, operation at the CSTBR at 20 % (w/v) solid loading yielded 119.9 g/L of glucose concentration, while operating at the HB at the same level of substrate loading was able to produce 134.4 g/L of glucose concentration. CO2-H2O pretreated biomass produced 123.6 g/L of glucose at the same loading on operation with a HB. The hydrolysis was greatly enhanced by the enzyme mixture. The current glucose conversion outcomes of hydrothermally processed biomass were unquestionably greater, with an energy efficiency 2.291 gsugar/MJ. The results of the present study conclusively show the concentration of glucose working at high solid loading by analyzing the energy consumption to improve the mechanical phenomenon at the stage of pretreatment hydrolysis. For the development of biorefineries, the design and development of this process will enable the establishment of ideal operating conditions and energy efficiency.

High-performance 0.9Al2O3-0.1TiO2 microwave dielectric ceramics prepared by digital light processing

In this work, the 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 ceramic sample with good microwave dielectric properties and complex structures can be well fabricated by digital light processing (DLP). A relationship between dispersant content and rheological behavior of 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 slurry was explored. When dispersant content was 3.0 wt%, 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 slurry with high solid loading (50 vol%) and low viscosity (2.9 Pa s) could be obtained. 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 ceramic parts with high accuracy were fabricated successfully by adding 3.0 wt% photoinitiator under 600 mJ/cm 2 exposure energy. With the increase of sintering temperature from 1400 °C to 1600 °C, relative density, dielectric constant ( ε r ), and quality factor ( Q × f ) of 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 ceramic sample increased first and then decreased, and all reached the maximum value at 1550 °C due to the uniformity and densification of microstructures. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency ( τ f ) value showed an almost monotonous increase, changing from negative to positive, and near-zero τ f value at 1550 °C. In addition, 0.9Al 2 O 3 -0.1TiO 2 ceramic samples sintered at 1550 °C fabricated by DLP method presented much better microwave dielectric properties: ε r = 11.30 ± 0.02, Q × f = 35,345 ± 143 GHz (@∼12 GHz), τ f = 2.16 ± 0.21 ppm/°C than that of by dry pressing method: ε r = 11.16 ± 0.11, Q × f = 30,195 ± 257 GHz (@∼12 GHz), τ f = 4.45 ± 0.13 ppm/°C, especially the Q × f value achieved a 17% increase. Accordingly, DLP technique, which has advantages of producing relatively high properties and complex geometry of microwave dielectric ceramics as well as without extra high-cost mold, greatly satisfies application requirements.

CFD-DDPM coupled with an agglomeration model for simulation of highly loaded large-scale cyclones: Sensitivity analysis of sub-models and model parameters

The Dense Discrete Phase Model coupled with an agglomeration model is developed and validated for the simulation of industrial cyclones with high solid loads. The performance of the model is influenced by sub-models, model parameters, and numerical parameters. To optimize the performance of the present CFD model, an extensive sensitivity analysis was performed, varying one sub-model or parameter at a time, and systematically assessing the effect on the results through comparisons with measured pressure drop and separation efficiency of a highly loaded pilot-scale cyclone. The investigation shows that the turbulence model and particle-particle restitution coefficient have the strongest influence. This study concludes with the recommendation of a set of sub-models, model parameters, and numerical parameters providing the best prediction of the hydrodynamics of large-scale highly loaded cyclones. In addition, the impact of some operating conditions on the performance of a large-scale highly loaded cyclone were examined. • Simulation of highly loaded cyclones: effects of sub-models and model parameters. • Particle-particle restitution coefficient and turbulence model influence the most. • The impact of particle-particle interaction force modeling is minor. • Most suitable sub-models, model parameters, and numerical parameters are suggested. • The impact of operating conditions on the performance of the cyclone was examined.

Digital Light Processing of Zirconia Suspensions Containing Photocurable Monomer/Camphor Vehicle for Dental Applications.

This study reports the utility of solid camphor as a novel diluent in photocurable hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) monomer to manufacture 4 mol% yttria partially stabilized zirconia (4Y-PSZ) components for dental applications by digital light processing (DLP). The use of a 65 wt% HDDA-35 wt% camphor solution allowed 4Y-PSZ suspensions to have reasonably low viscosities (1399 ± 55.8 mPa·s at a shear rate of 75 s-1), measured by a cone/plate viscometer, at a high solid loading of 48 vol%, where 4Y-PSZ particles prepared by calcination of as-received 4Y-PSZ granules, followed by a ball-milling process, were used with assistance of a dispersant. These 4Y-PSZ suspensions could be successfully applied to our custom-made DLP machine for manufacturing 4Y-PSZ components. To this end, several processing parameters, including layer thickness of 4Y-PSZ suspension, UV illumination time for layer-by-layer photocuring process, and initial dimensions of 4Y-PSZ objects, were tightly controlled. As sintering temperature increased from 1300 °C to 1500 °C, relative density and grain size of 4Y-PSZ objects increased, and cubic phase content also increased. Thus, after sintering at the highest temperature of 1500 °C for 3 h, high mechanical properties (biaxial flexural strength = 911 ± 40.7 MPa, hardness = 1371 ± 14.4 Hv) and reasonably high optical transmittance (translucency parameter = 7.77 ± 0.32, contrast ratio = 0.809 ± 0.007), evaluated by a spectrophotometer, were obtained due to a high relative density (97.2 ± 1.38%), which would be useful for dental applications.

Additively manufactured thermosetting elastomer composites: small changes in resin formulation lead to large changes in mechanical and viscoelastic properties

Better resin wettability increases strength and stiffness in high solids loading composites that can be additively manufactured with high resolution.

Engineering Trichoderma reesei for the hyperproduction of cellulose induced protein 1 (Cip1) on a sophorose-containing inducer to efficiently saccharify alkali-pretreated corn stover

Trichoderma reesei was induced to produce cellulase by a combination of glucose and β-disaccharide; however, lower levels of auxiliary proteins for degrading lignocellulosic biomass were detected by iTRAQ analysis compared with cellulose as an inducer, especially cellulose induced protein 1 (CIP1). In this study, A pdc1 promoter-driven overexpression of the endogenous Trcip1 gene was observed in T. reesei Rut C30, and the Trcip1 transcription levels of the two transformants, T. reesei OE-cip1-1 and OE-cip1-2, demonstrated 31.2- and 164.6-fold increases, respectively, but there was no significant change in cellobiohydrolase, endoglucanase and filter paper activity at 48 h. The crude enzyme was then used to hydrolyze corn stover. For T. reesei OE-cip1-1 and OE-cip1-2, the hydrolysis efficiency increased by 25.0 and 28.6% with a solid loading of 5% at 2 h, respectively. Simultaneously, 85.5 and 85.2 g/L glucose were released using a cellulase cocktail at high solid loading (20%), and these glucose release rates were significantly greater than that of T. reesei Rut C30 cellulase (77.4 g/L) at 120 h. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the enhanced hydrolysis efficiency was primarily triggered by the decrease in the crystallinity of lignocellulose, and the fiber structure had varying degrees of loosening and disintegration.

Development and Characterizations of Novel Aqueous-Based Ceramic Inks for Inkjet Printing.

Stable rheological properties of ceramic ink are a key requirement for inkjet printing (IJP), which should be satisfied in terms of the Reynolds and Weber numbers. In this paper, the reverse microemulsion was introduced for the synthesis of monodispersed nanosized ceramic powders, and the average size was less than 100 nm. A comparison of two different dispersants, i.e., polyacrylic ammonium (PAANH4) and polyacrylic aid (PAA), revealed that the former exerted a good dispersion effect on the ceramic ink. The sedimentation ratio, zeta potential, surface tension, viscosity, and density of the inks were measured, and the Reynolds and Weber numbers, as well as Z value, were calculated. A stable, homogeneous, and high solid loading (20 wt%) ceramic ink could be achieved after aging for a period of 72 h. Finally, the ceramic inks showed the desired printable property in the inkjet printing process. Combining inkjet printing technology with a sintering process, Ni-Mn-O films have the potential to monitor temperature and humidity parameters for intelligent wearable devices.

Sustainable coproduction of xylooligosaccharide, single-cell protein and lignin-adsorbent through whole components’ utilization of sugarcane bagasse with high solid loading

Free-waste biorefining of lignocellulosic biomass is environmentally friendly and accelerates the achievement of carbon neutrality. Here, we developed a sequential process of biorefining using a high solid loading of sugarcane bagasse (SB) as feedstock to coproduce xylooligosaccharide, glucose and xylose for the first time, including a three-step chemical pretreatment with a combination of diluted potassium hydroxide and phosphoric acid, followed by hydrolysis with recombinant endo-xylanase from Pichia pastoris and cellulase and xylanase from Penicillium oxalicum. The novel process achieved a maximum xylooligosaccharide yield of 5.59 g/100 g SB, comprising 77.1 % xylobiose, 18.5 % xylotriose and 4.4 % xylotetraose, a glucose yield of 32.96 g/100 g SB and a xylose yield of 7.68 g/100 g SB. The obtained glucose and xylose were used for the cultivation of Candida utilis, resulting in 13.20 g single-cell protein/100 g SB, 56.5 % of which was crude protein. Lignin residues were precipitated from the generated waste liquids by adjusting the pH, with a recovery extent of 94.15 %, used as lignin-adsorbent. The lignin-adsorbent could efficiently adsorb the dyes Acid Black 1, Direct Orange S and Procion Red MX-5B, with decolorization extents of 92.33 %, 93.00 % and 65.46 %, respectively. The final supernatant rich in phosphorus and potassium could be used as the feedstock of liquid fertilizer to nourish plants. This explored strategy provides an alternative option to utilize all components from SB that is eco-friendly.

Optimization of softwood pretreatment by microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvents at high solids loading

Microwave-assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) has received attention as an ultrafast pretreatment method in lignocellulose fractionation. This study investigated the improvement of milled softwood mixture (MSM) fractionation with chlorine chloride-formic acid (ChCl:FA) to obtain residues with high glucan retention and purity while removing majority of the lignin and hemicelluloses. At the optimum pretreatment conditions i.e., ChCl:FA (1:4), 140 °C, 14 min, 800 W and 15 % (w/v), 96.2 % hemicellulose removal, 90.1 % delignification and 93.5 % glucan retention were achieved. About 85 % lignin was recovered with a 95 % purity when solid loading was 10–20 % (w/v). This study showed that microwave assisted ChCl:FA pretreatment was a suitable means to fractionate MSM to achieve high quality glucan and lignin at high solid loading.

Effect of Fe2O3 doping on color and mechanical properties of dental 3Y-TZP ceramics fabricated by stereolithography-based additive manufacturing

In this study, iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3)-doped zirconia (3Y-TZP) ceramics with desirable mechanical and color properties for dental restorations were fabricated by stereolithography-based additive manufacturing. Six zirconia ceramic paste specimens with high solid loading (58 vol%) and reasonably low viscosity were prepared according to doped content of Fe2O3 (0–0.14 wt%). Zirconia ceramics were fabricated using commercial stereolithography three-dimensional printer and sintered at 1500 °C for 4 h to obtain final dense parts with a relative density of above 99%. Effects of Fe2O3 doping on microstructure, mechanical properties, and color of 3Y-TZP ceramics were investigated. Results indicate that Fe2O3 exhibited little effect on the shrinkage and density of colored ceramics compared to uncolored ceramics. Average grain size of 3Y-TZP ceramics sintered at 1500 °C increased with increasing content of Fe2O3. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that tetragonal phase was dominant phase structure of white and colored 3Y-TZP ceramics, and monoclinic phase increased with increasing Fe2O3 content. Compared to uncolored specimens, Fe2O3 exhibited negative effects on three-point flexural strength (mean > 879.70 MPa), Vickers hardness (mean > 12.14 GPa), and indentation fracture toughness (mean > 4.23 MPa m1/2) of the colored specimens. With the increase in the content of Fe2O3 from 0 to 0.14 wt%, L* (black–white index) value decreased from 83.39 to 79.54, a* (green–red index) value increased from −2.28 to −0.74, and b* (blue–yellow index) value increased from 1.15 to 17.94. Chromaticity (L*, a*, b*) fell within the range of natural tooth color, indicating that it is suitable for dental application because of its color compatibility with natural teeth. In addition, the transmittance slightly decreased with increasing Fe2O3 content. Thus, Fe2O3-doped 3Y-TZP ceramics can be used as potential candidates for aesthetic dental restoration materials.

Adsorption and conformation of polyethylene imine on the SiC/water interface and effects on the dispersion stability of slurry

The adsorption of polyethylene imine (PEI) on the SiC/water interface was studied in details by adsorption isotherms and kinetics. The adsorption results indicated that PEI formed saturated monolayer coverage on the SiC surface and the adsorption reached the equilibrium within 30 min. Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models could better describe the adsorption process. The adsorption was mainly dominated by electrostatic interaction between positively charged PEI and negatively charged SiC surface. With the pH increasing from 5 to 8, the conformation of PEI on the SiC surface transformed from flat trains to loops and tails, and then the PEI adsorption capacity increased gradually so that the contact angles of modified SiC decreased from 20.9° to 13.7°, the maximum values of zeta potential increased from 37.1 to 43.9 mV and the maximum stability of modified SiC suspensions at pH 5 also enhanced. Moreover, modified SiC powder with the best dispersion was obtained with 0.5 wt% PEI at pH 6.5 and modified slurry had the low viscosity of 664 mPa·s at high solid loading of 55 vol%.

Transformation of Corn Stover into Furan Aldehydes by One-Pot Reaction with Acidic Lithium Bromide Solution

Currently, the production of furan aldehydes from raw biomass suffers from low furfural yield and high energy consumption. In this study, a recyclable and practical method was explored for the preparation of furfural from corn stover by the one-pot reaction by acidic lithium bromide solution (ALBS) without pretreatment and enzymolysis. In the ALBS reaction, the furan aldehydes were generated by the degradation of lignocellulose; however, the products were unstable and were further dehydrated to form humins. So, dehydration reaction was inhibited in this study, and the high yield of furan aldehydes was obtained, in which 2.94 g/L of furfural and 2.78 g/L of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) were generated with high solid loading (10 wt%), the presence of commercial catalyst ZSM-5 and co-solvent tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 140 °C for 200 min. Via this method, almost 100% of hemicellulose was transformed to furfural, and 40.71% of cellulose was transformed to 5-HMF, which was based on the theoretical yield of HMF (8.35 g) from glucose (29.30 g) produced from cellulose. After the reaction, the catalyst ZSM-5 was the main component in the solid residue and kept a suitable performance. THF azeotrope was easily separated from the slurry by evaporation. During the removal of THF, lignin was precipitated from the liquid phase and showed lower molecular weight and abundant active groups, which was a potential feedstock for producing valuable aromatics and polymers. Thus, in a one-pot reaction, the ideal yield of furan aldehydes from raw biomass was obtained on a lab scale, and the catalyst, THF, and LiBr were easily recycled, which provided an option to realize the economical production of sustainable furan aldehydes from raw biomass.

High-solids saccharification and fermentation of ball-milled corn stover enabling high titer bioethanol production

High-solids saccharification and fermentation is central to the cost-competitive production of cellulosic ethanol, but it often comes with unsatisfactory conversion efficiency because of mixing and heat/mass transfer limitations. The use of ball milling can considerably enhance enzymatic hydrolysis with desirable rheological properties at high solids, and we obtained a high sugar concentration of 162 g/L with a glucose yield of 74% after enzymatic hydrolysis. However, little is known about the impact of ball milling on subsequent fermentation of sugars to ethanol as well as the feasibility of producing high titer bioethanol from ball-milled materials at high solids loading. Here, we systematically evaluated various fermentation strategies to maximize the efficiency and economic benefits of bioethanol production using ball-milled corn stover at high solids loading. A high ethanol titer and productivity can be achieved up to 71.8 g/L and 2 g/L/h, respectively, with an ethanol yield of 58.8%. These results suggest the tremendous potential of ball milling for bioethanol production.

Cleaner 2,3-butanediol production from unpretreated lignocellulosic biomass by a newly isolated Klebsiella pneumoniae PX14

Bioconversion lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) to 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) is a sustainable and energy-intensive practice, but its economic feasibility has been hindered by costly pretreatment and the cumbersome fermentation process. Herein, a lignocellulolytic strain Klebsiella pneumoniae PX14 is isolated from insect gut, showing effective degradation on unpretreated LCB with rates of 51.48 % for cellulose, 62.13 % for hemicellulose, and 41.42 % for lignin, while with a low 2,3-BDO titer of 3.26 g/L. Consequently, the secretory proteins of PX14 cultured on the bamboo biomass-containing medium are extracted for the construction of an enzyme cocktail with commercial cellulase. The designed enzyme cocktail achieves efficient saccharification of the unpretreated LCB, resulting in 42.90 g/L reducing sugars released, which is significantly higher than that from the secretory protein or cellulase only. These high sugars titer is also effective conversion to 2,3-BDO of 19.11 g/L titer by PX14 after further optimization. For the first time, the enzyme cocktail is tried for application in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of 2,3-BDO from unpretreated LCB. This fed-batch SSF resulted in 47.46 g/L of 2,3-BDO with 0.36 g/L/h productivity under high solid loading of 20 % due to the high substrate concentration tolerance of PX14. Finally, whole-genome sequencing reveals the robustness of K. pneumoniae PX14 and its molecular mechanism for such a process. These results provide a robustness strain of K. pneumoniae PX14 and its novel application in SSF of 2,3-BDO from unpretreated LCB, showing a great breakthrough in this process.

Efficient Corncob Biorefinery for Ethanol Initiated by a Novel Pretreatment of Densifying Lignocellulosic Biomass with Sulfuric Acid

Corncob is a potential feedstock for biorefineries to produce cellulosic ethanol and other chemicals. Densifying lignocellulosic biomass with chemicals followed by autoclave (DLCA) has been confirmed an efficient and economical pretreatment method, and it was applied in the present work for conversion of corncob to bioethanol. The dosage of sulfuric acid, solid loading of biomass, and autoclave time for pretreatment were investigated. Enzymatic hydrolysis at 25–35% solids loadings resulted in 91–97% sugar conversions. Fermentation of the resulted hydrolysates went well with the highest ethanol titer reaching 75.71 g/L at 35% solid loading. Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation was applied to further improve xylose consumption at high solids loadings and the ethanol titer was enhanced to 82.0 g/L at 35% solid loading with an ethanol yield of 21.67 kg/100 kg corncob. This study demonstrated DLCA provided a highly digestible and highly fermentable corncob for biorefinery.