Biotech Updates

Environmental Assessment of Mild Bisulfite Pretreatment of Forest Residues for Biofuel Production

January 27, 2016
http://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-016-0433-1

Sugar production via pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic feedstock is a critical step in biofuel production. Mild bisulfite (MBS) pretreatment is an emerging option for the breakdown of biomass into fermentable sugars. University of Washington researchers, led by Ikechukwu C. Nwaneshiudu, assessed the sustainability of the MBS pretreatment in the biofuels industry.

The team assessed a proposed sugar production facility by analyzing the sugar made from woody biomass using MBS pretreatment. The study found that the impact of the facility on the environment is less than those from using conventional beet and cane sugars, while its effect on global warming is within the range of conventional processes.

The study discussed the environmental impacts of designing and operating a sugar production facility that uses MBS as a pretreatment method for cellulosic forest residuals. A comparison to other sugar-making process is also detailed.