Aqueous two-phase systems development to separate sugar and enzymes.

• Grant number: 16/21951-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Aline Carvalho da Costa
• Grantee: Bianca Consorti Bussamra
• Supervisor: Lucas Antonius Maria Van Der Wielen
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/04749-4 - Two-liquid phase system applied to extractive enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass, BP.DR

Abstract

One of the major drawbacks of enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials is the inhibition of enzymes by reaction products (cellobiose and glucose). This effect is even more pronounced in hydrolysis containing high solid content (15-20% or higher water-insoluble solids - WIS), which is desired in order to result in higher total reducing sugar concentration in hydrolysates and reduce water usage. In this part of the project, we proposed to develop and optimize aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) for the sugarcane bagasse hydrolysis. This system will be applied as a strategy of in situ extraction, aiming to remove the reaction products and minimize enzyme inhibition, maintaining the enzymatic complex in its maximum activity rate. Various constituents of the liquid-liquid system will be studied and tested in high-throughput experiments. The constituent selection will be based on partition coefficients of the components (Kp e Ke), enzymatic stability and relative activity. In this ATPS, substrate is not present yet, so it is categorized as a non-reacting system. Then, sugar will be added to the system to simulate the product release.