HYDROTHERMAL-MECHANICAL CONVERSION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS TO ETHANOL OR OTHER FERMENTATION PRODUCTS

• Main Authors: MONCLIN JEAN-PIERRE, PYLKKANEN VESA, RUTHERFORD STEVEN, RETSINA THEODORA
• Format: Patent
• Language: Chinese; English
• Published: 02.01.2018
• Subjects: APPARATUS THEREFOR; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; ENZYMOLOGY; FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIREDCHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERSFROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCESFROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; SPIRITS; TEXTILES; VINEGAR; WINE

A low-cost process is provided to render lignocellulosic biomass accessible to cellulase enzymes, to produce fermentable sugars. Some variations provide a process to produce ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass (such as sugarcane bagasse or corn stover), comprising introducing a lignocellulosic biomass feedstock to a single-stage digestor; exposing the feedstock to a reaction solution comprising steam or liquid hot water within the digestor, to solubilize the hemicellulose in a liquid phase and to provide a cellulose-rich solid phase; refining the cellulose-rich solid phase, together with theliquid phase, in a mechanical refiner, thereby providing a mixture of refined cellulose-rich solids and the liquid phase; enzymatically hydrolyzing the mixture in a hydrolysis reactor with cellulase enzymes, to generate fermentable sugars; and fermenting the fermentable sugars to produce ethanol. Many alternative process configurations are described. The disclosed processes may be employed for other fermentation products.