Pretreated Sugarcane Bagasse Research Articles

Impact of thermomechanical pretreatment by twin-screw extrusion on the properties of bio-based materials from sugarcane bagasse obtained by thermocompression

The aim of this study was to produce binderless materials by thermocompression from lignocellulosic biomass pretreated using twin-screw extrusion. The impact of twin-screw extrusion pretreatment on sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was evaluated, along with the effects of two associated parameters: the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio and the screw profile, using three different mechanical shear rates. It was shown that twin-screw extrusion pretreatment resulted in materials with improved properties as compared to those obtained with untreated SCB. The mechanical properties and water resistance of materials obtained after pretreatment were mainly impacted by the screw profile. The flexural modulus increased from 5.3 to 6.1GPa and the flexural strength from 39.0 to 55.5 MPa. Water absorption (WA) from the thermocompressed materials ranged from 25 to 62 %, and thickness swelling (TS) from 24 to 67 %. Materials obtained with a 0.4 L/S ratio had lower flexural strength but the best water resistance. For the same L/S ratio, the use of a more shearing screw profile improved the material properties, especially the water resistance. The best material was produced with pretreated SCB using a 1.25 L/S ratio with the most restrictive screw profile, resulting in materials with a 5.6GPa flexural modulus, 55.5 MPa flexural strength, and WA and TS values of 44 % and 42 %, respectively.

Hydrodynamic cavitation assisted pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse in the presence of yeast cell mass for the production of sugars and their use for biopigments production by Monascus ruber

Hydrodynamic cavitation-assisted pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse tested in the, with the addition of yeast extract. This pretreatment was investigated using a 22 central composite design experiment. A total of 11 experiments were performed. The pretreated biomass was then tested for enzymatic hydrolysis for the sugars production. Various enzymatic loadings (15–20 FPU/g biomass) and concentrations of yeast extract (0.25–1 g/L) were studied during the enzymatic hydrolysis. Optimization of yeast extract insertion was performed to simultaneously facilitate the infusion of cellulolytic enzymes into the pores of the pre-treated bagasse concomitantly inhibiting enzyme absorption caused by residual lignin. The optimized results revealed an 81 % glucan hydrolysis yield and a 78 % xylan hydrolysis yield after the enzymatic hydrolysis under optimized conditions (20 FPU/g and 1 g/L of yeast extract). The hydrolysate rich in sugars derived from carbohydrate polymers and nitrogen sources derived from hydrolysis of yeast cream was assessed for biopigments production by Monascus ruber. The hydrolysate used for M. ruber fermentation showed the production of pigments with 15 AU (absorbance units) for yellow, 15 AU for orange and 20 AU for red after 9 days of fermentation. These results proved the efficiency of using yeast cream as a potential blocking agent of lignin in turn increasing the sugars production and a nitrogen source for the M. ruber for biopigments production from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate.

Investigation of hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse into glucose over solid acid HSO3-ZSM-5 zeolite for fermentation to bioethanol

ABSTRACT In the pursuit of sustainable energy sources, biomass has emerged as a promising alternative to fossil fuels due to its renewability and carbon neutrality. This current work presents the application of solid acid zeolite catalyst for biomass hydrolysis into reducing sugar for fermentation. Sulfonated ZSM-5 zeolite was prepared by grafting sulfonic acid group on the surface and/or into the pores of porous ZSM-5 zeolite and characterized by several analyses. The as-synthesized HSO3-ZSM-5 zeolite was then investigated as a solid acid catalyst for the hydrolysis of alkaline pretreated sugarcane bagasse (SB). Containing sulfonic acid groups – a very strong acid – on the surface, HSO3-ZSM-5 zeolite presented high catalytic activity and high efficiency in the hydrolysis of SB biomass. When the hydrolysis was carried out under optimal conditions, approximately 106.8 g/L of reducing sugar including of glucose, xylose, arabinose, and cellobiose was recovered. 86.65% fermentable sugars could be achieved after catalytic hydrolysis, and 48.7% of SB in total was converted to reducing sugar and others. Moreover, this solid acid catalyst can be reused impressively several times with no significant loss in catalytic activity. The sugar hydrolyzate could be used for fermentative production of bio-ethanol. Results indicated the possibility of using solid acid zeolite in the hydrolysis of lignocellulose to generate sugars that can be further applied in biofuel or chemical manufacturing.

Pretreated sugarcane bagasse matches performance of synthetic media for lipid production with Yarrowia lipolytica

Engineered strains of Yarrowia lipolytica with modified lipid profiles and other desirable properties for microbial oil production are widely reported but are almost exclusively characterized in synthetic laboratory-grade media. Ensuring translatable performance between synthetic media and industrially scalable lignocellulosic feedstocks is a critical challenge. Yarrowia lipolytica growth and lipid production were characterized in media derived from two-step acid-catalyzed glycerol pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse. Fermentation performance was benchmarked against laboratory-grade synthetic growth media, including detailed characterization of media composition, nitrogen utilization, biomass and lipid production, and fatty acid product profile. A Yarrowia lipolytica strain modified to enable xylose consumption consumed all sugars, glycerol, and acetic acid, accumulating lipids to 34–44 % of cell dry weight. Growth and lipid content when grown in sugarcane bagasse-derived media were equivalent to or better than that observed with synthetic media. These sugarcane bagasse-derived media are suitable for transferable development of Yarrowia lipolytica fermentations from synthetic media.

Enhanced Saccharification Yield of Alkali Pretreated Sugarcane Bagasse Utilizing Customized Cellulase Cocktail from Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride

The experiment was conducted during 2023 at Bioenergy Laboratory, Department of RBEE, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana, India. Compositional changes in sugarcane bagasse subjected to varying concentrations of sodium hydroxide (0.3% to 1.2%), revealing significant increases in glucan content (from 37.13% to 53.81%) alongside decreases in xylan, acid-insoluble lignin, acid-soluble lignin, ash, and other extractives. These changes were validated using microscopic technique SEM, confirming the efficacy of the pretreatment process. The utilization of a customized cellulase cocktail derived from Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride holds significant promise in enhancing the saccharification from alkali-pretreated sugarcane bagasse. This study investigates the synergistic effects of cellulase enzymes produced by these fungi on the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The enzymatic hydrolysis process is optimized by varying enzyme dosages, reaction conditions, and incubation times to maximize the release of fermentable sugars. Results indicate a substantial improvement in saccharification efficiency with the customized cellulase cocktail, highlighting its potential for sustainable biofuel production. The pretreated sugarcane bagasse, when saccharified with Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma viride individually, released 254.43 mg g-1 and 325.53 mg g-1 of reducing sugars, respectively, after 40 h of incubation. In contrast, the combined enzymatic cocktail achieved a substantial increase in glucose yields (345.12 mg g-1) at 40 h, showcasing the synergistic effect of the combined enzymatic activity. This research contributes to advancing bioconversion technologies for utilizing lignocellulosic biomass resources efficiently and economically, thus addressing key challenges in sustainable energy production.

Enhanced reducing sugar production by blending hydrolytic enzymes from Aspergillus fumigatus to improve sugarcane bagasse hydrolysis.

Biomass pretreatment for the production of second-generation (2G) ethanol and biochemical products is a challenging process. The present study investigated the synergistic efficiency of purified carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), β-glucosidase, and xylanase from Aspergillus fumigatus JCM 10253 in the hydrolysis of alkaline-pretreated sugarcane bagasse (SCB). The saccharification of pretreated SCB was optimised using a combination of CMCase and β-glucosidase (C + β; 1:1) and addition of xylanase (C + β + xyl; 1:1:1). Independent and dependent variables influencing enzymatic hydrolysis were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Hydrolysis using purified CMCase and β-glucosidase achieved yields of 18.72mg/mL glucose and 6.98mg/mL xylose. Incorporation of xylanase in saccharification increased the titres of glucose (22.83mg/mL) and xylose (9.54mg/mL). Furthermore, characterisation of SCB biomass by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy respectively confirmed efficient structural disintegration and revealed the degree of crystallinity and spectral characteristics. Therefore, depolymerisation of lignin to produce high-value chemicals is essential for sustainable and competitive biorefinery development.

Acid-Base Pretreatment of Sugarcane Bagasse for Anaerobic Digestion into Biogas in the Presence of Cowdung Mesophically to Remove H2S Through Adsorption on Xfe2o3-Cement Sand

Acid-Base Pretreatment of Sugarcane Bagasse for Anaerobic Digestion into Biogas in the Presence of Cowdung Mesophically to Remove H2S Through Adsorption on Xfe2o3-Cement Sand

Investigation of the influence of Candida tropicalis on bioethanol production using sugarcane bagasse: stochastic and in silico analysis.

This study investigated the impact of Candida tropicalis NITCSK13 on sugarcane bagasse (SCB) consolidated bioprocessing (CSB) using various parameters, such as pH, steam explosion (STEX) pretreatment, and temperature (at two different temperatures, cellulose hydrolysis and ethanol fermentation). The backpropagation neural network (BPNN) method simulated the optimal CSB conditions, achieving a maximum ethanol yield of 44 ± 0.32g/L (0.443g of ethanol/g of SCB) from STEX pretreated SCB within 48h at 55°C for cellulose hydrolysis and 33°C for ethanol fermentation and pH 3.5. The simulated conditions were experimentally validated and showed an R2 value of 0.998 and absolute average deviation (AAD) of 1.23%. The strain NITCSK13 also exhibited a high ethanol tolerance of 16% (v/v). The interactions between the inhibitors, cellobiose, furfural, and thermocellulase were assessed through molecular docking. The results revealed a maximum inhibitory constant of 3.7mM for furfural against the endoglucanase (EnG) of Humicola insolens (2ENG) at 50°C. Acremonium chrysogenum endoglucanase (5M2D) exhibited a maximum of 88.7µM for cellobiose at 50°C. The SWISS homology model of EnG from Candida viswanathii exhibited inhibitory effects similar to those of EnG from Thermoascus and Thermotoga, indicating that the moderately thermophilic yeast Candida sp. cellulase may be capable of efficiently tolerating inhibitors and could be a promising candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic ethanol.

Acid-Base Pretreatment of Sugarcane Bagasse for Anaerobic Digestion into Biogas in the Presence of Cowdung Mesophically to Remove H2S Through Adsorption on Xfe2o3-Cement Sand

Acid-Base Pretreatment of Sugarcane Bagasse for Anaerobic Digestion into Biogas in the Presence of Cowdung Mesophically to Remove H2S Through Adsorption on Xfe2o3-Cement Sand

Optimizing the Conditions of Pretreatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Sugarcane Bagasse for Bioethanol Production.

The agricultural waste sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a kind of plentiful biomass resource. In this study, different pretreatment methods (NaOH, H2SO4, and sodium percarbonate/glycerol) were utilized and compared. Among the three pretreatment methods, NaOH pretreatment was the most optimal method. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to optimize NaOH pretreatment conditions. After optimization by RSM, the solid yield and lignin removal were 54.60 and 82.30% under the treatment of 1% NaOH, a time of 60 min, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:15, respectively. Then, the enzymolysis conditions of cellulase for NaOH-treated SCB were optimized by RSM. Under the optimal enzymatic hydrolysis conditions (an enzyme dose of 18 FPU/g, a time of 64 h, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:30), the actual yield of reducing sugar in the enzyme-treated hydrolysate was 443.52 mg/g SCB with a cellulose conversion rate of 85.33%. A bacterium, namely, Bacillus sp. EtOH, which produced ethanol and Baijiu aroma substances, was isolated from the high-temperature Daqu of Danquan Baijiu in our previous study. At last, when the strain EtOH was cultured for 36 h in a fermentation medium (reducing sugar from cellulase-treated SCB hydrolysate, yeast extract, and peptone), ethanol concentration reached 2.769 g/L (0.353%, v/v). The sugar-to-ethanol and SCB-to-ethanol yields were 13.85 and 11.81% in this study, respectively. In brief, after NaOH pretreatment, 1 g of original SCB produced 0.5460 g of NaOH-treated SCB. Then, after the enzymatic hydrolysis, reducing sugar yield (443.52 mg/g SCB) was obtained. Our study provided a suitable method for bioethanol production from SCB, which achieved efficient resource utilization of agricultural waste SCB.

Aqueous Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Binderless Material Production: Influence of Twin-Screw Extrusion Configuration and Liquid-to-Solid Ratio.

This study was carried out to investigate the continuous aqueous pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) through twin-screw extrusion for a new integrated full valorization, where the solid residue (extrudate) was used for the production of bio-based materials by thermocompression and the filtrate for the production of high-value-added molecules. Two configurations, with and without a filtration module, were tested and the influence of the SCB composition and structure on the properties of the materials were determined. The impact of the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio was studied (0.65-6.00) in relation to the material properties and the biomolecule extraction yield in the filtrate (with the filtration configuration). An L/S ratio of at least 1.25 was required to obtain a liquid filtrate, and increasing the L/S ratio to 2 increased the extraction yield to 11.5 g/kg of the inlet SCB. The extrudate obtained without filtration yielded materials with properties equivalent to those obtained with filtration for L/S ratios of at least 1.25. Since the molecule extraction process was limited, a configuration without filtration would make it possible to reduce water consumption in the process while obtaining high material properties. Under the filtration configuration, an L/S ratio of 2 was the best tradeoff between water consumption, extraction yield, and the material properties, which included 1485 kg/m3 density, 6.2 GPa flexural modulus, 51.2 MPa flexural strength, and a water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS) of 37% and 44%, respectively, after 24 h of water immersion. The aqueous pretreatment by twin-screw extrusion allowed for the overall valorization of SCB, resulting in materials with significantly improved properties compared to those obtained with raw SCB due to fiber deconstruction.

Optimizing dilute acid pretreatment for enhanced recovery and co-fermentation of hexose and pentose sugars for ethanol and butanol production

A systematic study of dilute acid pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse was performed to optimize the recovery of hexose-rich solid and pentose-rich liquid while minimizing fermentation inhibitors. Pretreatment experiments evaluated the effects of pretreatment time (10–90 min) and acid concentration (0.5–3.0 % w/w). The optimized pretreatment (1.4 % w/w sulfuric acid, 56.4 min at 121 °C) led to a solid fraction with 60.4 % cellulose and a liquid stream rich in pentose, in which 92.7 % of sugars was recovered as xylose (17.8 g/L). Besides that, low concentrations of by-products (3 g/L – the sum of acetic and formic acid, furfural, and HMF) were identified in the liquid fraction. Both fractions were integrated into enzymatic processes for further co-fermentation of C5- and C6- sugars. Two fermentative routes were evaluated: simultaneous isomerization of xylose and co-fermentation of glucose and xylulose (SIcF) for 2G ethanol production and acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation of glucose and xylose for biobutanol, utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Clostridium acetobutylicum, respectively. SIcF yielded 0.48 gethanol/gsugars (24 g/L ethanol) with complete glucose consumption and 58.2 % xylose conversion. ABE fermentation produced 0.36 gABE/gsugars (15.7 g/L ABE and 9.5 g/L butanol), with 96 % glucose consumption and 29.6 % xylose conversion. The proof-of-concept demonstrated that the hydrolysates were satisfactorily fermentable by microorganisms, thus validating the pretreatment optimization for fermentation applications.

Composite additives enhance high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis of CuCl2-catalyzed organosolv pretreated sugarcane bagasse

Composite additives enhance high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis of CuCl2-catalyzed organosolv pretreated sugarcane bagasse

Development of sustainable sugarcane bagasse biorefinery using a greener deep eutectic solvent from hemicellulose-derived acids

Acid-based deep eutectic solvents (ADES) have recently been tested as an emerging technology in biomass deconstruction. In particular, the use of hemicellulose-derived carboxylic acids has attracted great interest as this type of ADES can enable a sustainable closed-loop biorefinery, due to their efficiency and recyclability. Therefore, this study proposed the pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) with acetic acid, as a biomass-derived chemical, and choline chloride [ChCl]:AA to perform a complete biomass fractionation to enhance enzymatic digestibility. Thus, this work analyzed the effect of different temperatures and reaction time during pretreatment, studying the impact on biomass composition and digestibility during enzymatic hydrolysis. In addition, the reuse of ADES to produce an environmentally friendly and low-cost SCB biorefinery was explored by studying the physicochemical modifications in polysaccharide-rich material (PRM) and lignin-rich material (LRM) by ATR-FTIR and SEM photography. Furthermore, the ADES content was also characterized by HPLC after each recycling cycle. The results demonstrated efficient polysaccharide conversion, promoting an enrichment in glucan (>60%) and xylan (>20%) content under mild operating conditions (130°C and 90 min) supported by ATR-FTIR and SEM. Furthermore, SCB pretreated under these selected conditions achieved higher digestibility, increasing by 89% for glucan and 73% for xylan, using a simple and competitive process. In contrast, increasing the temperature above 130°C did not improve the enzymatic digestibility of SCB. Thus, ChCl:AA could be recycled and reused. Therefore, this study demonstrated the potential of AA in DES pretreatments as an environmentally friendly and efficient method for the valorization of SCB components.

Developing a new ethylene glycol/H2O pretreatment system to achieve efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse cellulose and recover highly active lignin: Countercurrent extraction

Improving pretreatment efficiency is a critical premise in achieving efficient biomass conversion, and obtaining high-performance natural polymers is the guarantee of high-value conversion of biomass. In this study, a new pilot-scale continuous countercurrent pretreatment reaction unit about ethylene glycol-alkali solution was designed for pretreating sugarcane bagasse in order to achieve efficient separation of the three major components of lignocellulose when expanding the scale of pretreatment, reduce lignin deposition on the fiber surface, and obtain highly active lignin and excellent enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), brunauer-emmett-teller (BET) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods are used to analyze the structural properties of sugarcane bagasse before and after pretreatment, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to analyze the monosaccharide components in the enzymatic solution. In addition, the structural properties of the recovered lignin are analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), 31P NMR and 2D-HSQC-NMR methods. The results indicate that the system can gain a high cellulose recovery of 92.99% along with a lignin removal of 95.33%, and recovered lignin has low lignin carbohydrate complexes, low condensation, and rich in phenolic hydroxyl groups for 1.95 mmol/g. Meanwhile, the countercurrent pretreatment system can effectively reduce the deposition of lignin on the cellulose surface, which is evidently superior to the non-countercurrent pretreatment and facilitates the efficiency of enzymatic saccharification of substrate, achieving a high glucose yield of 99% as well as a total sugar yield of 91.11%. The method efficiently separates biomass in a green manner, and solid residues are easily hydrolyzed, showing potential for industrial-scale production.

Mass transfer and diffusion mechanisms of hemicellulose from microwave expansion pretreated sugarcane bagasse

Mass transfer and diffusion mechanisms of hemicellulose from microwave expansion pretreated sugarcane bagasse

Cloning, expression and purification of cellobiohydrolase gene from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii for efficient saccharification of plant biomass

Anthropogenic activities have led to a drastic shift from natural fuels to alternative renewable energy reserves that demand heat-stable cellulases. Cellobiohydrolase is an indispensable member of cellulases that play a critical role in the degradation of cellulosic biomass. This article details the process of cloning the cellobiohydrolase gene from the thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii and expressing it in Escherichia coli (BL21) CondonPlus DE3-(RIPL) using the pET-21a(+) expression vector. Multi-alignments and structural modeling studies reveal that recombinant CbCBH contained a conserved cellulose binding domain III. The enzyme's catalytic site included Asp-372 and Glu-620, which are either involved in substrate or metal binding. The purified CbCBH, with a molecular weight of 91.8 kDa, displayed peak activity against pNPC (167.93 U/mg) at 65°C and pH 6.0. Moreover, it demonstrated remarkable stability across a broad temperature range (60–80°C) for 8 h. Additionally, the Plackett-Burman experimental model was employed to assess the saccharification of pretreated sugarcane bagasse with CbCBH, aiming to evaluate the cultivation conditions. The optimized parameters, including a pH of 6.0, a temperature of 55°C, a 24-hour incubation period, a substrate concentration of 1.5% (w/v), and enzyme activity of 120 U, resulted in an observed saccharification efficiency of 28.45%. This discovery indicates that the recombinant CbCBH holds promising potential for biofuel sector.

Deep eutectic solvent pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse for efficient lignin recovery and enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis

This study explores the sugarcane bagasse (SCB) pretreatment with two deep eutectic solvents (DESs) prepared from choline chloride (ChCl) as a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) to two hydrogen bond donors (HBD): oxalic acid (OA) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) for lignin recovery and enhancing enzymatic saccharification. The pretreatment conditions, reaction time, temperature, and DES concentration were optimized using response surface methodology. The two DESs showed a lignin yield of 74.67 ± 2.75 and 83.50 ± 2.65 mg per gm of SCB, respectively. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose-enriched material (CEM) obtained after pretreatment showed an enhanced RS yield of around 4-fold compared to the untreated SCB. The CEM was characterized using FTIR, Powder X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The recovered lignin characteristics were studied using FTIR, 1H NMR, and 2D-HSQC NMR analysis. The FTIR spectra of lignin show the presence of aromatic skeletal vibrations, -OH, -CH, C-O stretching vibration, and aromatic C-H deformation. Furthermore, the pretreatment solvent recyclability studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of DES for a sustainable biorefinery process.

Enhanced Production of Clean Fermentable Sugars by Acid Pretreatment and Enzymatic Saccharification of Sugarcane Bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB), an agro-industrial byproduct generated by a sugar mill, holds a substantial carbohydrate content of around 70 wt.%, comprising cellulose and hemicellulose. Saccharification plays a pivotal role in the conversion of SCB into second-generation (2G)-ethanol and valuable compounds, which is significantly aided by thermochemical pretreatments. In this study, SCB underwent diluted sulfuric acid pretreatment (2% H2SO4, 80 rpm, 200 °C, 20 min), resulting in the removal of 77.3% of the xylan. The hemicellulosic hydrolysate was analyzed to identify the sugars and degraded products acting as microbial inhibitors. The acid hydrolysate showed a xylose yield of 68.0% (16.4 g/L) and a yield of 3.8 g/L of acetic acid. Afterward, the hemicellulosic hydrolysate was concentrated 2.37 times to obtain a xylose-rich stream (39.87 g/L). The sequential detoxification, employing calcium oxide and activated carbon, removed the inhibitory compounds, including acetic acid, while preserving the xylose at 38.10 g/L. The enzymatic saccharification of cellulignin at 5% and 10% of the total solids (TSs) yielded comparable reducing sugar (RS) yields of 47.3% (15.2 g/L) and 47.4% (30.4 g/L), respectively, after 96 h, employing a 10 FPU/g enzyme loading of Cellic® CTec3 (Novozymes Inc. Parana, Brazil). In summary, these findings outline an integrated green chemistry approach aimed at addressing the key challenges associated with pretreatment, concentration, detoxification, and enzymatic hydrolysis to produce fermentable sugars.

Sugarcane bagasse derived xylooligosaccharides produced by an arabinofuranosidase/xylobiohydrolase from Bifidobacterium longum in synergism with xylanases

Arabinoxylan is a major hemicellulose in the sugarcane plant cell wall with arabinose decorations that impose steric restrictions on the activity of xylanases against this substrate. Enzymatic removal of the decorations by arabinofuranosidases can allow a more efficient arabinoxylan degradation by xylanases. Here we produced and characterized a recombinant Bifidobacterium longum arabinofuranosidase from glycoside hydrolase family 43 (BlAbf43) and applied it, together with GH10 and GH11 xylanases, to produce xylooligosaccharides (XOS) from wheat arabinoxylan and alkali pretreated sugarcane bagasse. The enzyme synergistically enhanced XOS production by GH10 and GH11 xylanases, being particularly efficient in combination with the latter family of enzymes, with a degree of synergism of 1.7. We also demonstrated that the enzyme is capable of not only removing arabinose decorations from the arabinoxylan and from the non-reducing end of the oligomeric substrates, but also hydrolyzing the xylan backbone yielding mostly xylobiose and xylose in particular cases. Structural studies of BlAbf43 shed light on the molecular basis of the substrate recognition and allowed hypothesizing on the structural reasons of its multifunctionality.