Organic solvent pretreatment of biomass to enhance enzymatic saccharification

• Main Authors: FAN JANINE, DINER BRUCE A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.08.2012
• Subjects: ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE ORUNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; APPARATUS THEREFOR; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; DERIVATIVES OF NATURAL MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; DERIVATIVES THEREOF; ENZYMOLOGY; FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIREDCHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERSFROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE; FIRELIGHTERS; FUELS; FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; LUBRICANTS; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MINERAL WAXES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; NATURAL GAS; NUCLEIC ACIDS; NUCLEOSIDES; NUCLEOTIDES; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PAPER-MAKING; PEAT; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCESFROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVEHYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, ORGASES; REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGYGENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; SACCHARIDES, OTHER THAN SUCROSE, OBTAINED FROM NATURAL SOURCESOR BY HYDROLYSIS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING DI-, OLIGO- ORPOLYSACCHARIDES; SPIRITS; SUGAR INDUSTRY; SUGARS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TEXTILES; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; VINEGAR; WINE

Biomass is pretreated using an organic solvent solution under alkaline conditions in the presence of ammonia and optionally an additional nucleophile to fragment and extract lignin without loss of hemicellulose. Pretreated biomass is further hydrolyzed with a saccharification enzyme consortium. Fermentable sugars released by saccharification may be utilized for the production of target chemicals by fermentation.