Methods for converting lignocellulosic material to useful products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9447539-B2
Application number	US-201314100340-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2013
Priority date	Jun 10, 2011
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

The present invention provides compositions and methods for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic material. The present invention further provides for pretreated lignocellulosic material that can be used to produce useful products, such as fermentable sugars.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A method for producing a partially hydrolyzed lignocellulosic material, comprising pretreating a lignocellulosic material with a pretreatment solution comprising glycerol in an amount of 80% to 99% by weight of the pretreatment solution, an acid catalyst in an amount of 0.5% to 2% by weight of the pretreatment solution, and water in an amount of 5% to 20% by weight of the pretreatment solution, wherein the pretreating step is carried out at a temperature from about 80° C. to about 150° C., thereby producing a pretreated partially hydrolyzed lignocellulosic material, wherein less than 20% of the cellulose present in the lignocellulosic material is converted into glucose.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pretreating step is carried out for a period of time from about 1 minute to about 120 minutes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pretreating step is carried out at a biomass loading from about 1% to about 20% by weight of the pretreatment solution.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the partially hydrolyzed lignocellulosic material has a total recovered lignin content of at least 40% of the total lignin in the lignocellulosic material prior to the pretreating step.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pretreating step decreases the amount of hemicellulose in the lignocellulosic material by at least 40%.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pretreating step reduces the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, and/or acetic acid.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the preteated lignocellulosic material is separated from the pretreatment solution.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the pretreatment solution is collected for reuse in pretreating additional lignocellulosic material.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising washing the pretreated lignocellulosic material with a basic solution.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the basic solution has a pH of about 11 or greater.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising enzymatically hydrolyzing the pretreated lignocellulosic material to produce a fermentable sugar.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein enzymatic digestibility of the pretreated lignocellulosic material is increased by at least two times compared to untreated lignocellulosic material.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the enzymatic hydrolysis step is carried out with microbially produced enzymes, plant produced enzymes, or any combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the enzymatic hydrolysis step is carried out with an enzyme selected from the group consisting of cellulases, ligninases, hemicellulases, xylanases, lipases, pectinases, amylases, proteinases, and any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the fermentable sugar is selected from the group consisting of glucose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose, sucrose, fructose, and any combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein prior to the pretreating step the lignocellulosic material is treated with an acid solution at a temperature from about 80° C. to about 200° C., wherein the acid is present in an amount of about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the acid solution.

Assignees

• Syngenta Participations Ag
• Queensland Univ Of Tech

Inventors

• Zhang Zhanying
• O'Hara Ian Mark
• Doherty William Orlando Sinclair

Classifications

• C12P2201/00

  Pretreatment of cellulosic or lignocellulosic material for subsequent enzymatic treatment or hydrolysis · CPC title

• C08B37/0006

  Homoglycans, i.e. polysaccharides having a main chain consisting of one single sugar, e.g. colominic acid · CPC title

• C08B37/0057

  beta-D-Xylans, i.e. xylosaccharide, e.g. arabinoxylan, arabinofuronan, pentosans; (beta-1,3)(beta-1,4)-D-Xylans, e.g. rhodymenans; Hemicellulose; Derivatives thereof · CPC title

• C12P2203/00

  Fermentation products obtained from optionally pretreated or hydrolyzed cellulosic or lignocellulosic material as the carbon source · CPC title

• D21B1/021 Primary

  by chemical means · CPC title