Nanocellulose Production in Future Biorefineries: An Integrated Approach Using Tailor-Made Enzymes

Author(s)

Squinca, Paula ^{[1, 2]} ; Bilatto, Stanley ^[1] ; Badino, Alberto C. ^[2] ; Farinas, Cristiane S. ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Embrapa Instrumentat, Nanotechnol Natl Lab Agr LNNA, BR-13560970 Sao Carlos - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Grad Program Chem Engn, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING; v. 8, n. 5, p. 2277-2286, FEB 10 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 8

Abstract

The development of process engineering approaches to integrate the production of biofuels and high value-added biobased products, such as enzymes and nanocellulose, is crucial to improve the financial performance and sustainability of lignocellulosic biomass biorefineries. Here, the feasibility of applying enzymes produced on-site to obtain nanocellulose was evaluated using eucalyptus cellulose pulp as a model feedstock. A systematic analysis of the structural properties of the nanomaterials obtained after hydrolysis using a cellulolytic enzymatic complex with high endoglucanase specific activity (17.09 IU/mg(protein)), produced by Aspergillus niger, followed by sonication, revealed that longer ball milling pretreatment and reaction times favored extraction of the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The highest yield (24.6%) of CNCs was achieved using 96 h of enzymatic hydrolysis of the ball-milled cellulose pulp, followed by sonication for 5 min. The CNCs presented approximate lengths of 294.0 nm and diameters of 24.0 nm, and the crystallinity index increased from 57.5% to 78.3%, compared to the cellulose pulp that was only ball milled. These findings demonstrated that nanocelluloses could be successfully extracted using on-site produced enzymes and that the sustainable integrated process reported here could contribute to the development of the nascent biobased economy. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/10899-4 - Utilization of residual lignocellulosic biomass from 2G ethanol processing to obtain nanocellulose via enzymatic route
• Grantee: Stanley Endrigo Bilatto Rodrigues
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales
• Grantee: Roberto de Campos Giordano
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Thematic Grants