Production of oligosaccharides and biofuels from Miscanthus using combinatorial steam explosion and ionic liquid pretreatment

Author(s)

Bhatia, Rakesh ^[1] ; Lad, Jai B. ^[2] ; Bosch, Maurice ^[1] ; Bryant, David N. ^[1] ; Leak, David ^[3] ; Hallett, Jason P. ^[4] ; Franco, Telma T. ^[5] ; Gallagher, Joe A. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Aberystwyth Univ, Inst Biol Environm & Rural Sci IBERS, Aberystwyth SY23 3EE, Dyfed - Wales

^[2] Aberystwyth Univ, ARCITEKBio Ltd, Aberystwyth Innovat & Enterprise Campus AIEC, Aberystwyth SY23 3EE, Dyfed - Wales

^[3] Univ Bath, Dept Biol & Biochem, Bath BA2 7AY, Avon - England

^[4] Imperial Coll London, Dept Chem Engn, Exhibit Rd, London SW7 2AZ - England

^[5] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Fac Chem Engn, BR-13083852 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Bioresource Technology; v. 323, MAR 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 11

Abstract

Pretreatment strategies are fundamental to effectively deconstruct lignocellulosic biomass and economically produce biofuels, biomaterials and bio-based chemicals. This study evaluated individual and combinatorial steam explosion (SE) and ionic liquid (IL) pretreatments for production of high-value oligosaccharides from a novel seed-based Miscanthus hybrid (Mx2779). The two ILs used for pretreatment were triethylammonium hydrogen sulphate {[}TEA]{[}HSO4] and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate {[}C(2)mim]{[}OAc]. The results showed that each pretreatment leads to distinct effects on the fragmentation (cellulose and xylan dissolution, delignification, deacetylation) and physicochemical modification (cellulose and lignin properties) of lignocellulose. This, in turn, dictated enzymatic hydrolysis efficiencies of the cellulose pulp to glucose or gluco-oligosaccharides for downstream applications. Our findings suggest that the stand-alone SE or {[}C(2)mim]{[}OAc] pretreatments may offer cost advantages over {[}TEA]{[}HSO4] through the production of oligosaccharides such as xyloand glucooligosaccharides. This study also highlights technical and economic pretreatment process challenges related to the production of oligosaccharides from Miscanthus Mx2779 biomass. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/50612-8 - An integrated approach to explore a novel paradigm for biofuel production from lignocellulosic feedstocks
• Grantee: Telma Teixeira Franco
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants