Potential Lignocellulosic Feedstock Research Articles

Silica extraction from integrated refinery of rice straw for production of value-added products

Rice straw is an agricultural residue from rice production, which can be a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for various value-added products. In this study, silica was extracted from the rice straw. The biomass was pre-treated with ethanol and was cooked with 18% w/w sodium hydroxide to extract lignin and silica. The silica was precipitated from the alkaline solution using 30% sulfuric acid to pH 11.5 and was recovered through centrifugation. The obtained solid was washed and then combusted at 575 °C for 6 hours. The obtained ash was dissolved in sodium hydroxide solution at pH 8.0 and then re-precipitated by sulfuric acid to form silica powder, which obtained a yield of about 6.7% w/w dry rice straw. The characteristics of amorphous disk-formed silica, determined using XRD, SEM, EDS, and FT-IR.

Influence of reactors, microbial carbohydrate uptake, and metabolic pathways on ethanol production from grass biomass: A review

Grasses are considered to be potential lignocellulosic feedstock for renewable and sustainable biofuels such as bioethanol. However, the process involved, ie, pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation in conversion of these lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol, remains expensive and at present is not affordable for industrial production. Thus, the present review assesses the influence of the recent technologies that can be employed for the bio-refinery based pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of grass biomass using advanced bioreactors. Since plant extracts have been seen to enhance the glucose uptake, an experiment was implemented to elucidate the role of plant extracts (bark extracts of Xylocarpus granatum) on glucose uptake capacity of microorganisms like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia sp., and Zymomonas mobilis and their subsequent ethanol production capability from glucose and xylose sugars. The results of these experiments indicated that supplementation of plant extracts promoted both glucose and xylose uptake in S. cerevisiae and Pichia sp. as compared with the control and Z. mobilis strain. Further, as Pichia sp. exhibited good uptake ability for both glucose and xylose, a model was proposed focusing on the gene silencing and operon concept in Pichia sp. for preferential pentose utilization during the fermentation of grass biomass to bioethanol.

Characterization of phenology, physiology, morphology and biomass traits across a broad Euro‐Mediterranean ecotypic panel of the lignocellulosic feedstock Arundo donax

AbstractGiant reed (Arundo donax L.) is a perennial rhizomatous grass, which has attracted great attention as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for bioethanol production due to high biomass yield in marginal land areas, high polysaccharide content and low inhibitor levels in microbial fermentations. However, little is known about the trait variation that is available across a broad ecotypic panel of A. donax nor the traits that contribute most significantly to yield and growth in drought prone environments. A collection of 82 ecotypes of A. donax sampled across the Mediterranean basin was planted in a common garden experimental field in Savigliano, Italy. We analysed the collection using 367 clumps representing replicate plantings of 82 ecotypes for variation in 21 traits important for biomass accumulation and to identify the particular set of ecotypes with the most promising potential for biomass production. We measured morpho‐physiological, phenological and biomass traits and analysed causal relationships between traits and productivity characteristics assessed at leaf and canopy levels. The results identified differences among the 82 ecotypes for all studied traits: those showing the highest level of variability included stomatal resistance, stem density (StN), stem dry mass (StDM) and total biomass production (TotDM). Multiple regression analysis revealed that leaf area index, StDM, StN, number of nodes per stem, stem height and diameter were the most significant predictors of TotDM and the most important early selection criteria for bioenergy production from A. donax. These traits were used in a hierarchical cluster analysis to identify groups of similar ecotypes, and a selection was made of promising ecotypes for multiyear and multisite testing for biomass production. Heritability estimates were significant for all traits. The potential of this ecotype collection as a resource for studies of germplasm diversity and for the analysis of traits underpinning high productivity of A. donax is highlighted.

Transcriptome analysis highlights key differentially expressed genes involved in cellulose and lignin biosynthesis of sugarcane genotypes varying in fiber content

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuel production due to its exceptional biomass accumulation ability, high convertible carbohydrate content and a favorable energy input/output ratio. Genetic modification of biofuel traits to improve biomass conversion requires an understanding of the regulation of carbohydrate and lignin biosynthesis. RNA-Seq was used to investigate the transcripts differentially expressed between the immature and mature tissues of the sugarcane genotypes varying in fiber content. Most of the differentially expressed transcripts were found to be down-regulated during stem maturation, highlighting their roles in active secondary cell-wall development in the younger tissues of both high and low fiber genotypes. Several cellulose synthase genes (including CesA2, CesA4, CesA7 and COBRA-like protein), lignin biosynthesis-related genes (ρ-coumarate 3-hydroxylase, ferulate 5-hydroxylase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase and gentiobiase) and transcription regulators for the secondary cell-wall synthesis (including LIM, MYB, PLATZ, IAA24, C2H2 and C2C2 DOF zinc finger gene families) were exclusively differentially expressed between immature and mature tissues of high fiber genotypes. These findings reveal target genes for subsequent research on the regulation of cellulose and lignin metabolism.

Energy assessment of second generation (2G) ethanol production from wheat straw in Indian scenario.

Impact of second-generation ethanol (2G) use in transportation sector mainly depends upon energy efficiency of entire production process. The objective of present study was to determine energy efficiency of a potential lignocellulosic feedstock; wheat straw and its conversion into cellulosic ethanol in Indian scenario. Energy efficiency was determined by calculating Net energy ratio (NER), i.e. ratio of output energy obtained by ethanol and input energy used in ethanol production. Energy consumption and generation at each step is calculated briefly (11,837.35MJ/ha during Indian dwarf irrigated variety of wheat crop production and 7.1148MJ/kg straw during ethanol production stage). Total energy consumption is calculated as 8.2988MJ/kg straw whereas energy generation from ethanol is 15.082MJ/kg straw; resulting into NER >1. Major portion of agricultural energy input is contributed by diesel and fertilisers whereas refining process of wheat straw feedstock to ethanol and by-products require mainly in the form of steam and electricity. On an average, 1671.8kg water free ethanol, 930kg lignin rich biomass (for combustion), and 561kg C5-molasses (for fodder) per hectare are produced. Findings of this study, net energy ratio (1.81) and figure of merit (14.8028MJ/nilkg carbon) proves wheat straw as highest energy efficient lignocellulosic feedstock for the country.

An assessment of duckweed as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for biogas production

Due to the complicated structure of lignocellulosic plant cell wall, their utilization for biogas production via anaerobic digestion has not been widely adopted. Alternative to this is to use aquatic plant materials as feedstock for biogas production. In this context, duckweed, an aquatic plant may prove to be a promising new energy source for bioenergy as well efficient CO2 sequestration. This study entails a detailed characterization of duckweed to evaluate their potential as an alternate feedstock to cattle dung for biogas production. The duckweed was characterized for volatile matter, moisture content, ash content and carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (CHN) content. Property analysis of duckweed was also done by Fourier transform spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The volatile matter of duckweed was found to be 84.24± 0.2% with a lignin content of 12.2%, which is very encouraging for biogas production. Co-digestion of duckweed (DW) with cattle dung (CD) in varying ratios (DW:CD = 90:10, 75:25, and 50:50 respectively) in batch type anaerobic digesters was performed at 37 °C temperature for 55 days. The cumulative biogas production for CD (100%), DW/CD (90:10), (75:25) and (50:50) was found to be 11,620, 305, 11,695, and 12,070 mL, respectively, which indicated that duckweed can be a potential lignocellulosic feedstock when co-digested with cattle dung at an optimum ratio of 1:1. Methane content of the biogas from co-digested feedstock is comparable to the biogas from cattle dung alone.

Optimization of High Solids Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Spent Coffee Ground at Mild Temperature for Enzymatic Saccharification and Microbial Oil Fermentation.

Soluble coffee, being one of the world's most popular consuming drinks, produces a considerable amount of spent coffee ground (SCG) along with its production. The SCG could function as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for production of bioproducts. The objective of this study is to investigate the possible optimal condition of dilute acid hydrolysis (DAH) at high solids and mild temperature condition to release the reducing sugars from SCG. The optimal condition was found to be 5.3% (w/w) sulfuric acid concentration and 118min reaction time. Under the optimal condition, the mean yield of reducing sugars from enzymatic saccharification of defatted SCG acid hydrolysate was 563mg/g. The SCG hydrolysate was then successfully applied to culture Lipomyces starkeyi for microbial oil fermentation without showing any inhibition. The results suggested that dilute acid hydrolysis followed by enzymatic saccharification has the great potential to convert SCG carbohydrates to reducing sugars. This study is useful for the further developing of biorefinery using SCG as feedstock at a large scale.

Preliminary Optimization of Alkaline Pretreatment for Ethanol Production from Vineyard Pruning

Vineyard pruning is a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for bioethanol production from agricultural woody residues, due to its high sugar content and ready availability in whole Europe. Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass requires a pretreatment step and then enzymatic hydrolysis process to release sugars for fermentation to ethanol. In this work, alkaline pretreatment with NaOH on vineyard residues was investigated on laboratory scale. The raw material was firstly characterized in order to determine cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content, using the standard laboratory analytical procedures for biomass analysis provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Then, based on Response Surface Methodology tool (RSM), a Box-Behnken model was chosen to define a design of experiments (DoE) in terms of the three independent variables that influence the process: the NaOH concentration, the reaction time and the temperature of the pretreatment process. According to the design, 15 samples of raw material were submitted to alkaline pretreatment and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis and the glucose yield from whole process was calculated. The statistical optimization was carried out with Minitab 17 software, in order to determine the best operative pretreatment condition by maximizing the glucose yield from enzymatic hydrolysis.Results show that the best glucose yield was obtained at the highest sodium hydroxide concentration and temperature of the reaction; this condition allowed to achieve very significant glucose yield thanks to lignin removal performed with the pretreatment.

Bioethanol from poplar clone Imola: an environmentally viable alternative to fossil fuel?

BackgroundEnvironmental issues, e.g. climate change, fossil resource depletion have triggered ambitious national/regional policies to develop biofuel and bioenergy roles within the overall energy portfolio to achieve decarbonising the global economy and increase energy security. With the 10 % binding target for the transport sector, the Renewable Energy Directive confirms the EU’s commitment to renewable transport fuels especially advanced biofuels. Imola is an elite poplar clone crossed from Populus deltoides Bartr. and Populus nigra L. by Research Units for Intensive Wood Production, Agriculture Research Council in Italy. This study examines its suitability for plantation cultivation under short or very short rotation coppice regimes as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for the production of ethanol as a transport biofuel. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to model the cradle-to-gate environmental profile of Imola-derived biofuel benchmarked against conventional fossil gasoline. Specific attention was given to analysing the agroecosystem fluxes of carbon and nitrogen occurring in the cultivation of the Imola biomass in the biofuel life cycle using a process-oriented biogeochemistry model (DeNitrification-DeComposition) specifically modified for application to 2G perennial bioenergy crops and carbon and nitrogen cycling.ResultsOur results demonstrate that carbon and nitrogen cycling in perennial crop–soil ecosystems such as this example can be expected to have significant effects on the overall environmental profiles of 2G biofuels. In particular, soil carbon accumulation in perennial biomass plantations is likely to be a significant component in the overall greenhouse gas balance of future biofuel and other biorefinery products and warrants ongoing research and data collection for LCA models. We conclude that bioethanol produced from Imola represents a promising alternative transport fuel offering some savings ranging from 35 to 100 % over petrol in global warming potential, ozone depletion and photochemical oxidation impact categories.ConclusionsVia comparative analyses for Imola-derived bioethanol across potential supply chains, we highlight priority issues for potential improvement in 2G biofuel profiling. Advanced clones of poplar such as Imola for 2G biofuel production in Italy as modelled here show potential to deliver an environmentally sustainable lignocellulosic biorefinery industry and accelerate advanced biofuel penetration in the transport sector.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0318-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

High-Throughput Prediction of Acacia and Eucalypt Lignin Syringyl/Guaiacyl Content Using FT-Raman Spectroscopy and Partial Least Squares Modeling

High-throughput techniques are necessary to efficiently screen potential lignocellulosic feedstocks for the production of renewable fuels, chemicals, and bio-based materials, thereby reducing experimental time and expense while supplanting tedious, destructive methods. The ratio of lignin syringyl (S) to guaiacyl (G) monomers has been routinely quantified as a way to probe biomass recalcitrance. Mid-infrared and Raman spectroscopy have been demonstrated to produce robust partial least squares models for the prediction of lignin S/G ratios in a diverse group of Acacia and eucalypt trees. The most accurate Raman model has now been used to predict the S/G ratio from 269 unknown Acacia and eucalypt feedstocks. This study demonstrates the application of a partial least squares model composed of Raman spectral data and lignin S/G ratios measured using pyrolysis/molecular beam mass spectrometry (pyMBMS) for the prediction of S/G ratios in an unknown data set. The predicted S/G ratios calculated by the model were averaged according to plant species, and the means were not found to differ from the pyMBMS ratios when evaluating the mean values of each method within the 95 % confidence interval. Pairwise comparisons within each data set were employed to assess statistical differences between each biomass species. While some pairwise appraisals failed to differentiate between species, Acacias, in both data sets, clearly display significant differences in their S/G composition which distinguish them from eucalypts. This research shows the power of using Raman spectroscopy to supplant tedious, destructive methods for the evaluation of the lignin S/G ratio of diverse plant biomass materials.

Valorization of olive stones for xylitol and ethanol production from dilute acid pretreatment via enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation by Pachysolen tannophilus

Olive stones are an agro-industrial by-product abundant in the Mediterranean area that is regarded as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for sugar production. Statistical modeling of dilute-sulphuric acid hydrolysis of olive stones has been performed using a response surface methodology, with treatment temperature and process time as factors, to optimize the hydrolysis conditions aiming to attain maximum d-xylose extraction from hemicelluloses. Thus, solid yield and composition of solid and liquid phases were assessed by empirical modeling. The highest yield of d-xylose was found at a temperature of 195°C for 5min. Under these conditions, 89.7% of the total d-xylose was recovered from raw material. The resulting solids from optimal conditions were assayed as substrate for enzymatic hydrolysis, while fermentability of hemicellulosic hydrolysates was tested using the d-xylose-fermenting yeast Pachysolen tannophilus. Both bioprocesses were considerably influenced by enzyme loading and inoculum size. In the enzymatic hydrolysis step, about 56% of cellulose was converted into d-glucose by using an enzyme/solid ratio of 40FPUg−1, while in the fermentation carried out with a cell concentration of 2gL−1 a yield of 0.44g xylitol/g d-xylose and a global volumetric productivity of 0.11gL−1h−1 were achieved.

Partial dissolution of ACQ-treated wood in lithium chloride/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone: Separation of copper from potential lignocellulosic feedstocks

A cellulose solvent system based on lithium chloride (LiCl) in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) was used to assess the merits of partial dissolutions of coarsely ground wood samples. Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ)-treated pine wood was of particular interest for treatment given the potential to generate a copper-rich stream apart from solid and/or liquid lignocellulosic feedstocks. Treatment with NMP alone gave yields of soluble materials that were higher than typical extractives contents thereby suggesting a limited degree of wood dissolution. Inclusion of LiCl, which disrupts hydrogen bonding, gave lower wood residue recoveries (i.e., higher dissolution) with higher LiCl concentration. Lower wood residue recoveries coincided with lower Klason lignin and hemicellulose-derived sugar contents in the wood residues. After treatment with 8% LiCl in NMP, subsequent filtration afforded 34% of the ACQ-treated sapwood as a wood residue retaining only 2% of the original copper. Pouring the filtrate over an excess of water resulted in the recovery of 30% of the solids and 50% of the copper together as a copper-enriched lignocellulosic precipitate. Results demonstrate a solvent system showing potential as a means to separate heavy metals from preservative-treated wood and to recover lignocellulosic feedstocks that may be suitable for use in a biorefinery.

Investigation of tension wood formation and 2,6-dichlorbenzonitrile application in short rotation coppice willow composition and enzymatic saccharification.

BackgroundShort rotation coppice willow is a potential lignocellulosic feedstock in the United Kingdom and elsewhere; however, research on optimising willow specifically for bioethanol production has started developing only recently. We have used the feedstock Salix viminalis × Salix schwerinii cultivar 'Olof' in a three-month pot experiment with the aim of modifying cell wall composition and structure within the stem to the benefit of bioethanol production. Trees were treated for 26 or 43 days with tension wood induction and/or with an application of the cellulose synthesis inhibitor 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile that is specific to secondary cell walls. Reaction wood (tension and opposite wood) was isolated from material that had received the 43-day tension wood induction treatment.ResultsGlucan content, lignin content and enzymatically released glucose were assayed. All measured parameters were altered without loss of total stem biomass yield, indicating that enzymatic saccharification yield can be enhanced by both alterations to cell wall structure and alterations to absolute contents of either glucan or lignin.ConclusionsFinal glucose yields can be improved by the induction of tension wood without a detrimental impact on biomass yield. The increase in glucan accessibility to cell wall degrading enzymes could help contribute to reducing the energy and environmental impacts of the lignocellulosic bioethanol production process.

Lime Pretreatment of Coastal Bermudagrass for Bioethanol Production

Coastal bermudagrass (CBG) is regarded as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for bioethanol production in the southeast United States. Lime pretreatment of CBG for enhanced reducing sugar recovery was investigated in this study, which examined a variety of temperatures (21−121 °C) at a range of residence times with different lime loadings (0.02−0.20 g/g of dry biomass). During pretreatment, 10−20% lignin was removed. After enzymatic hydrolysis with excessive cellulases and cellobiase, the best total reducing sugar yield for the lime-pretreated CBG was 78% of the theoretical maximum, which is over 2 times more than that from the untreated CBG. The recommended condition is 100 °C for 15 min with a lime loading of 0.1 g/g of dry biomass, under which 87% glucan and 68% xylan were converted to glucose and xylose, respectively. Fermentation tests of the hydrolyzates indicated that more than 99% glucose in the hydrolyzate was used by the yeast during the fermentation, with ethanol yields of 95% of the theoretical maximum for the hydrolyzate and 83% of the theoretical maximum for the raw biomass.

Evaluation of steam‐treated giant bamboo for production of fermentable sugars

Giant bamboo plantations are currently being established in the Southern Africa region and can be considered as potential lignocellulosic feedstock for the production of second generation bioethanol. In this study, giant bamboo internodal material was subjected to sulphur dioxide (SO(2)) impregnated steam pretreatment prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The effect of temperature, residence time, and acidity on the overall sugar recovery and byproduct formation was studied using response surface response technology according to a central composite experimental design (CCD) at a fixed SO(2) concentration of 2.5% (w/w liquid) after impregnation. The results showed that pretreatment conditions with combined severity factor (CSF) values and enzyme dosages greater than 1.72 and 30 FPU/g water insoluble solid, respectively, were required to obtain an efficient glucan digestibility and a good overall glucose recovery. Up to 81.2% of the sugar in the raw material was recovered for a CSF of 2.25. However, considering overall sugar yield and byproducts concentration, the pretreated material obtained with a CSF of 1.62 can be considered as the most appropriate for SSF experiments using a xylose-utilizing yeast. At these conditions, it could be possible to obtain up to 247 L of ethanol per dry ton of giant bamboo considering hexose and pentose sugars fermentation. This amount could be increased up to 292 L of ethanol per dry ton of giant bamboo with the maximum sugar yield obtained (CSF = 2.25) if the microorganism possesses robust fermentative characteristics as well as a high resistance to pretreatment by-products.

Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of cardoon for ethanol production

Cardoon ( Cynara cardunculus L.) is an herbaceous species originating in the Mediterranean area that can be considered as a potential lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuels and high added value products. In this work, cardoon biomass (stems and leaves) was pretreated with dilute sulfuric acid in a batch reactor. The effect of temperature (160–200 °C), acid loading (0–0.2%, w/w) and solid/liquid ratio (5–10%, w/v) on overall sugar yields was studied using a response surface method according to a Box–Behnken experimental design. Overall xylose yield reaches a maximum of 90% of the content in raw material at 180 °C and 0.1% (w/v) acid addition and 7.5% (w/v) solid concentration. Regarding overall glucose yield, best results were achieved at 200 °C, 0.2% (w/w) acid loading and 7.5% (w/v) solid concentration. According to statistical optimization used optima conditions to maximize both overall glucose and xylose yield were 184.5 °C and 0.15% (w/v) acid concentration. At these conditions, 70% and 93% of glucose and xylose, respectively, could be recovered. The highest simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) yields are obtained when biomass was pretreated at 200 °C with 0.2% sulfuric acid reaching values close to 65% of theoretical.