Organosolv Pretreatment of Sorghum Bagasse using Low Concentrations of Organic Solvents
February 10, 2016http://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-016-0427-z
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Lignocellulosic biomass are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Each component can be used as a resource for producing biofuels. However, separation of components is required. Organosolv pretreatment can be the key, but uses high concentrations of organic solvents. Hiroshi Teramura of Kobe University led researchers and identified organic solvents capable of fractionating sorghum bagasse at only low concentrations.
Five alcohols were used for organosolv pretreatment of sorghum bagasse at a concentration of 12.5%. Three fractions, composed of black liquor, liquid fraction containing xylose, and cellulose-enriched solid fraction, were obtained after pretreatment with 1-butanol and 1-pentanol.
Analysis revealed that the lignin aromatic components of raw sorghum bagasse were in the black liquor fraction. Compared with using no solvent, pretreatment with 1-butanol or 1-pentanol doubled ethanol production from the solid fraction by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Results revealed that a low concentration of highly hydrophobic solvent such as 1-butanol or 1-pentanol can be used to separate the black liquor from the solid and liquid fractions.
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