Optimization of Dilute Sulfuric Acid Pretreatment to Maximize Combined Sugar Yield from Sugarcane Bagasse for Ethanol Production

Increasing fermentable sugar yields per gram of biomass depends strongly on optimal selection of varieties and optimization of pretreatment conditions. In this study, dilute acid pretreatment of bagasse from six varieties of sugarcane was investigated in connection with enzymatic hydrolysis for maximum combined sugar yield (CSY). The CSY from the varieties were also compared with the results from industrial bagasse. The results revealed considerable differences in CSY between the varieties. Up to 22.7 % differences in CSY at the optimal conditions was observed. The combined sugar yield difference between the best performing variety and the industrial bagasse was 34.1 %. High ratio of carbohydrates to lignin and low ash content favored the release of sugar from the substrates. At mild pretreatment conditions, the differences in bioconversion efficiency between varieties were greater than at severe condition. This observation suggests that under less severe conditions the glucose recovery was largely determined by chemical composition of biomass. The results from this study support the possibility of increasing sugar yields or improving the conversion efficiency when pretreatment optimization is performed on varieties with improved properties.     

Phenomenological Modeling of Formic Acid Fractionation of Sugarcane Bagasse by Integration of Operation Parameters as an Extended Combined Severity Factor

In order to more conveniently simulate and optimize the solubilization of sugarcane bagasse components during formic acid (FA) fractionation, an extended combined severity factor (CSF_ext) was defined to integrate various operation parameters as a single factor. Two phenomenological models based on Arrhenius and Logistic equations were further used to describe the phenomenological kinetics. Different data-processing methods were compared to fit the severity parameters and model constants. Both Arrhenius-based and Logistic-based models show satisfying fitting results, though the values of Arrhenius-based CSF_ext (A-CSF_ext) and Logistic-based CSF_ext (L-CSF_ext) were somewhat different under the same fractionation condition. The solubilization of biomass components increased with CSF_ext, but two distinct stages could be observed with inflection points at A-CSF_ext of 42 or L-CSF_ext of 43, corresponding to bulk and residual solubilization stages, respectively. For the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic solids, the highest initial enzymatic glucan conversion (EGC@6h) was obtained at A-CSF_ext of 39–40 or A-CSF_ext of 40–41; however, for a long hydrolysis period (72 h), relatively high glucan conversion (EGC@72h) was observed at A-CSF_ext of 42–43 or A-CSF_ext of 43–44. Post-treatment for deformylation with a small amount of lime could help to recover the cellulose digestibility.     

Production of Bio-Ethanol by Integrating Microwave-Assisted Dilute Sulfuric Acid Pretreated Sugarcane Bagasse Slurry with Molasses

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and molasses, known as carbohydrate-rich biomass derived from sugar production, can serve as feedstock for bio-ethanol production. To establish a simple process, the production of bio-ethanol through integration of whole pretreated slurry (WPS) of SCB with molasses was investigated. The results showed that microwave-assisted dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment reduced the formation of toxic compounds compared to a pretreatment process involving “conventional heating”. Pretreatment at 180 ^oC with 10% w v^?1 solid loading and 0.5% w v^?1 H₂SO₄ was sufficient to achieve efficient enzymatic saccharification of WPS. By conducting separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), an ethanol yield of 90.12% was obtained from the mixture of WPS and molasses, but the ethanol concentration of 33.48 g L^?1 was relatively low. By adopting fed-batch SHF, the ethanol concentration reached 41.49 g L^?1. Assuming that the molasses were converted to ethanol at an efficiency of 87.21% (i.e., ethanol was obtained from fermentation of molasses alone), the ethanol yield from WPS when a mixture of WPS and molasses was fermented was 78.30%, which was higher than that of enzymatic saccharification of WPS (73.53%). These findings suggest that the production of bio-ethanol via integration of WPS with molasses is a superior method.

Open image in new window

Graphical Abstract ?

     

Kinetic Study of Empty Fruit Bunch Using Hot Liquid Water and Dilute Acid

Empty fruit bunch (EFB), a residual product of the palm plantation, is an attractive biomass for biorefinery. As xylan is susceptible to high temperature pretreatment, it is important to setup a proper pretreatment condition to maximize the sugar recovery from EFB. Kinetic parameters of mathematical models were obtained in order to predict the concentration of xylose, glucose, furfural, and acetic acid in the hydrolysate and to find production conditions of xylose. We investigated the kinetics of hot liquid water and dilute sulfuric acid hydrolysis over a 40-min period using a self-designed setup by measuring the concentrations of released sugars (xylose, glucose) and degradation products (acetic acid and furfural). The reaction was performed within the range 160～180 °C, under reaction conditions of various concentration of sulfuric acid (0.1～0.2%) and 1:7 solid-liquid ratio in a batch reactor. The kinetic constants can be expressed by the Arrhenius equation with the activation energy for the hydrolysis of sugar and decomposition of sugar. The activation energy of xylose was determined to be 136.2187 kJ mol(-1).     

Ethanol Production from Sugarcane Bagasse by Zymomonas mobilis Using Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) Process

Considerable efforts have been made to utilize agricultural and forest residues as biomass feedstock for the production of second-generation bioethanol as an alternative fuel. Fermentation utilizing strains of Zymomonas mobilis and the use of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process has been proposed. Statistical experimental design was used to optimize the conditions of SSF, evaluating solid content, enzymatic load, and cell concentration. The optimum conditions were found to be solid content (30%), enzymatic load (25 filter paper units/g), and cell concentration (4 g/L), resulting in a maximum ethanol concentration of 60 g/L and a volumetric productivity of 1.5 g L^?1?h^?1.     

酸性离子液体催化脂肪酸甲酯聚合制备二聚酸甲酯

 以 Brönsted-Lewis 酸性离子液体为催化剂, 用于催化生物柴油中不饱和脂肪酸甲酯聚合制备二聚酸甲酯反应, 考察了催化剂种类、催化剂用量、反应温度和时间等因素对聚合反应性能的影响, 得到较佳的反应条件. 结果表明, 当以 1-(3-磺酸)-丙基-3-甲基咪唑氯锌酸盐[HO3S-(CH2)3-mim]Cl-ZnCl2 (ZnCl2 摩尔分数为 0.67) 为催化剂, 生物柴油 15 g, m(生物柴油):m(离子液体) = 15:1, 于 240 oC 下反应 6 h 时, 二聚酸甲酯收率为 63.2%, 其中三聚体含量小于 5%. 另外, 该催化剂重复使用 5 次后, 二聚酸甲酯收率仍超过 63%, 表明其具有较好的重复使用性能. 离子液体的 Brönsted 和 Lewis 酸位的协同效应显著提高了其催化活性.     

Formic Acid as a Potential Pretreatment Agent for the Conversion of Sugarcane Bagasse to Bioethanol

In recent years, growing attention has been focused on the use of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for the production of ethanol, a possible renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Several pretreatment processes have been developed for decreasing the biomass recalcitrance, but only a few of them seem to be promising. In this study, effect of various organic solvents and organic acids on the pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse was studied. Among the different organic acids and organic solvents tested, formic acid was found to be effective. Optimization of process parameters for formic acid pretreatment was carried out. The structural changes before and after pretreatment was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The X-ray diffraction profile showed that the degree of crystallinity was more for pretreated biomass than that of untreated. The FTIR spectra shown at the stretching of hydrogen bonds of pretreated sugarcane bagasse arose at higher number. It also revealed that the cellulose content in the solid residue increased because the hemicelluloses fraction in raw materials was released by acid hydrolytic reaction.     

离子液体固定相离子色谱法测定淀粉中的顺反式丁烯二酸

采用新型聚合离子液体嫁接硅胶多模式色谱固定相(Sil-pC11C1Im柱,4.6 mm×150 mm),建立了淀粉中顺反式丁烯二酸的新型离子色谱测定方法。实验通过考察流动相的pH值和无机盐浓度对分离检测顺、反丁烯二酸的影响,得到优化的色谱条件:流动相为甲醇-10 mmol/L磷酸二氢钠(体积比为5∶95,pH7.0),流速为1.0 mL/min,检测波长为215 nm,进样量为15μL。在优化条件下,顺反式丁烯二酸的线性范围为0.1~2.0 mg/L,回收率为93.0%~99.6%,相对标准偏差(RSD,n=5)为1.1%~7.6%,检出限(S/N=3)为0.02 mg/L,定量下限(S/N=10)为0.66 mg/kg。该方法样品前处理简单、快速,定性定量检测效果良好。     

酸性离子液中纤维素的水解

以离子液 1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯为纤维素溶剂, 酸性离子液 1-磺酸丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯为催化剂进行了纤维素水解反应. 通过筛选, 找到了合适的离子液共溶剂二甲基甲酰胺可降低纤维素-离子液体系的黏度. 分别考察了催化剂用量和水含量对纤维素水解的影响, 同时研究了高聚合度的滤纸及棉花的水解行为. 应用二硝基水杨酸法测得水解体系中还原糖的浓度, 进而求得反应过程中还原糖的收率. 结果表明, 在酸性离子液中水解纤维素是完全可行的, 最高可达到 95%的还原糖收率.     

微波促进酸性离子液体催化水杨酸酯化

用自制的硫酸氢1-甲基-3-(3-磺酸基丙基)咪唑([MIMPS]HSO4)酸性离子液体作为水杨酸与醇的酯化反应催化剂,考察了温度、时间、物料配比和离子液体用量等因素对酯化反应的影响,优化的最佳反应条件为: 微波辐射时间20 min,反应温度95 ℃,醇与酸摩尔比3∶1(水杨酸的量为0.02 mol),[MIMPS]HSO4用量10 mmol,水杨酸甲酯的产率和选择性分别为91.9%和99.0%。 离子液体回收循环使用4次,催化效率不变。 与热催化酯化反应相比,微波辐射可缩短反应时间;水杨酸与不同碳链醇的酯化产率随着碳链的增加而降低,同碳链的伯醇酯化率比仲醇高。     

数学方法推导一元弱酸溶液氢离子浓度的近似公式及适用条件

近似计算一元弱酸HA溶液的氢离子浓度[H+]（相对误差在±5%以内）是分析化学工作者需要掌握的方法。利用严谨的数学方法,获得了各类近似公式的使用条件和浓度适用范围。例如,从近似式[H+]AV1=1/2（-Ka+√Ka2+4cKa+4c）出发,推导出了计算氢离子浓度的其他2个近似公式：（1）c越小,[H+]AV1越趋向c。计算表明,当满足c≤1/19Ka和c≥5.0×10-7 mol/L时,弱酸HA就可作强酸处理,此时得到近似式[H+]AV4=c,这极大简化了弱酸溶液氢离子浓度的计算。（2）c越大,[H+]AV1越接近√cKa。当满足c≥105Ka和cKa≥10Kw时,弱酸溶液氢离子浓度可按最简式[H+]AV2=√cKa计算。还解释了c≥105Ka和c≤1/19Ka时所包含的物理意义。需要强调的是,本文首次给出了各近似式的浓度适用范围,比如忽略水的解离时,除了满足cKa≥10Kw,还必须要求c≥6.0×10-6 mol/L。     

Electrochemical Behaviors of Ascorbic Acid and Uric Acid in Ionic Liquid

Cyclic voltammetric measurements at platinum electrode have been carried out to investigate the electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid and uric acid in ionic liquid, [bmim][BF₄]. It is important that a typical redox couple of ascorbic acid was obtained and it is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid in [bmim][BF₄]. However, there is no electron-transfer for uric acid and no electrochemical oxidation carried out in the same ionic liquid. It provides a new way to eliminate the interfering between ascorbic acid and uric acid in the study of the electrochemical behaviors for them.     

甘蔗渣复合材料吸附油脂中游离脂肪酸的研究

以甘蔗渣、硅酸钠为原材料,制备了甘蔗渣复合材料(SBC),采用傅里叶红外光谱分析和扫描电镜对甘蔗渣复合材料的结构进行表征。结果表明:聚硅酸盐通过物理作用和甘蔗渣紧密结合,并附着在甘蔗渣表面的微孔上,呈现出疏松结构。研究了SBC对葵花籽油中游离脂肪酸(FFA)的吸附特性,利用单因素试验法得到脱酸最优工艺条件为添加量7%(处理用量,0.7 g SBC处理100 g葵花籽油葵花籽油)、温度80℃、处理时间90 min,酸值由5.0 mg KOH/g降低至0.17 mg KOH/g。     

Electrochemical Reduction of Benzoylformic Acid in Ionic Liquid

Ionic Hquids possess a number of unique properties that makethem ideal electrolytes. Electrochical reduction of benzoyl-formic acid in room temperature ionic liquids as reaction media could be conducted with excellent performances without any ad-ditional supporting electrolyte. Electrolysis at glassy carbon electrode results in the formation of mandelic acid in 91% yield. And the electrochemical behavior of benzoylformic acid was investigated with the technique of cyclic voltammetry.     

Impact of Ionic Strength of Carrier Liquid on Recovery in Flow Field-Flow Fractionation

Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) and hollow-fiber flow field-flow fractionation (HF5) are techniques widely used in analytical, industrial and biological analyses. The main problem in all AF4 and HF5 analyses is sample loss due to analyte–membrane interactions. In this work the impact of liquid carrier composition on latex nanoparticles (NPs) separation in water and two different concentrations of NH₄NO₃ was studied. In AF4, a constant trend of decreasing the size of 60 and 121.9 nm particles induced by the ionic strength of the carrier liquid has been observed. In contrast, an agglomeration effect of the biggest 356 nm particles was observed when increasing ionic strength, which induced a significant drop of recovery to 35%. H5F provides better resolution and intensified peaks of NPs, but careful optimisation of system parameters is mandatory to obtain good separation.     

Adsorption Study of Acid Soluble Lignin Removal from Sugarcane Bagasse Hydrolysate by a Self-Synthesized Resin for Lipid Production

An adsorption resin CX-6 was synthesized and used for acid soluble lignin (ASL) removal from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate (SCBH). The adsorption conditions of pH value, amount of adsorbent, initial ASL concentration, and temperature on ASL adsorption were discussed. The results showed the adsorption capacity of ASL was negatively affected by increasing temperature, solution pH, and adsorbent dose, and was positively affected by increasing initial concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity of ASL was 135.3 mg/g at initial ASL concentration 6.46 g/L, adsorption temperature 298 K, and pH 1. Thermodynamic study demonstrated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. Equilibrium and kinetics experiments were proved to fit the Freundlich isotherm model and pseudo-second-order model well, respectively. Fermentation experiment showed that the SCBH after combined overliming with resin adsorption as fermentation substrate for microbial lipid production by Trichosporon cutaneum and Trichosporon coremiiforme was as better as that of SCBH by combined overliming with active charcoal adsorption, and more efficient than that of SCBH only by overliming. Moreover, the regeneration experiment indicated that the CX-6 resin is easy to regenerate and its recirculated performance is stable. In conclusion, our results provide a promising adsorbent to detoxify lignocellulose hydrolysate for further fermentation.

     

Lime Pretreatment and Fermentation of Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Sugarcane Bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse was subjected to lime (calcium hydroxide) pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis for second-generation ethanol production. A central composite factorial design was performed to determine the best combination of pretreatment time, temperature, and lime loading, as well as to evaluate the influence of enzymatic loadings on hydrolysis conversion. The influence of increasing solids loading in the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis stages was also determined. The hydrolysate was fermented using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in batch and continuous mode. In the continuous fermentation, the hydrolysates were concentrated with molasses. Lime pretreatment significantly increased the enzymatic digestibility of sugarcane bagasse without the need for prior particle size reduction. In the optimal pretreatment conditions (90 h, 90 °C, 0.47 g?lime/g bagasse) and industrially realistic conditions of hydrolysis (12.7 FPU/g of cellulase and 7.3 CBU/g of β-glucosidase), 139.6 kg?lignin/ton raw bagasse and 126.0 kg hemicellulose in the pretreatment liquor per ton raw bagasse were obtained. The hydrolysate from lime pretreated sugarcane bagasse presented low amounts of inhibitors, leading to ethanol yield of 164.1 kg?ethanol/ton raw bagasse.     

己内酰胺三氟甲磺酸离子液体中甲苯的区域选择性硝化

以三氟甲磺酸和己内酰胺为原料制备了一种新型离子液体己内酰胺三氟甲磺酸([CP]OTf),用1HNMR、FTIR对其结构进行了表征。并把[CP]OTf作为催化剂和溶剂,用于催化甲苯的硝化反应。借助气相色谱研究了[CP]OTf的用量、硝化温度、反应时间、硝酸浓度和离子液体的重复使用等因素对甲苯硝化反应区域选择性和产率的影响。结果表明：在反应温度55℃,反应时间6h,甲苯与95%浓硝酸的摩尔比为1：1,离子液体用量占甲苯摩尔数的15%时,产物中邻对位硝基甲苯摩尔比为1.12,较浓硫酸催化硝化的相应值(1.67)显著降低,硝基甲苯的产率达到78.41%,[CP]OTf表现出了优良的催化活性和对位选择性。[CP]OTf) 重复使用5次,其催化活性及对位选择性变化很小。     

离子液体-加速溶剂萃取-高效液相色谱法测定蜜饯中的有机酸类防腐剂

以离子液体氯化1-辛基-3-甲基咪唑盐([Omim]Cl)的水溶液为萃取剂,采用加速溶剂萃取结合高效液相色谱法测定了蜜饯中苯甲酸、山梨酸、肉桂酸等有机酸类防腐剂,优化了加速溶剂萃取实验参数,最佳萃取条件为:离子液体浓度为0.1mol/L,萃取时间为5min,萃取温度为80℃。在最佳条件下,有机酸类防腐剂的检出限为0.4～27.7μg/L。将本方法用于蜜饯样品的检测,回收率为78.2%～113.9%。实验结果表明:离子液体-加速溶剂萃取法快速、高效。