Abstract:
Methods for producing refined xylan from a biomass solution, including: (i) providing a biomass solution, which comprises xylan; (ii) concentrating or separating said biomass solution to obtain a xylan concentrate comprising xylan and impurities; (iii) washing and/or extracting the xylan concentrate with a solvent to obtain refined xylan and a solvent stream comprising the solvent and impurities; and (iv) collecting the refined xylan.
Abstract:
A process for fractionating high-ash lignocellulosic biomass is provided, comprising: (a) providing a biomass feedstock comprising lignocellulosic material and ash, some of which may be removed before digestion; (b) contacting the feedstock with a digestor solution comprising a first organic solvent, an acid catalyst, and water, under effective digestor conditions and controlled acidity to produce intermediate solids and a first liquid phase comprising hemicelluloses and lignin; (c) separating the first liquid phase from the intermediate solids; (d) washing the intermediate solids with a wash solution comprising a second organic solvent and water, under effective washing conditions to produce cellulose-rich solids and a second liquid phase comprising hemicelluloses and lignin; and (e) separating the cellulose-rich solids from the second liquid phase. The solvent type is optimized to control acidity in the digestor. Controlling the acidity may also include adjusting digestor pH to a value between about 0.5 and about 2.0.
Abstract:
The invention proposes a process for producing ethanol, comprising steps of pre-treatment of the lignocellulosic vegetable raw material, comprising the steps consisting in destructuring the lignocellulosic vegetable raw material, then in separating, on the one hand, the cellulose (C6)capable of then being hydrolysed (and fermented for the production of ethanol) and, on the other hand, the hemicelluloses capable of then being hydrolysed and the lignins, characterized in that the hydrolysis of the cellulose and of the hemicelluloses is then carried out in a sequenced manner according to the following steps consisting in: -i) beginning the enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose by means of at least one enzyme for a first period with a view to obtaining an intermediate hydrolysate; -ii) adding hemicelluloses to said intermediate hydrolysate; -iii) continuing the enzymatic hydrolysis of the mixture until a final hydrolysate is obtained at the end of a total period of enzymatic hydrolysis.
Abstract:
The present invention provides a cationic arabinoxylan and the hydrophobically modified product thereof. The cationic arabinoxylan is prepared based on a cereal arabinoxylan and a quaternizing agent, with water as solvent and strong alkali as catalyst. The hydrophobically modified product is prepared based on cationic arabinoxylan and alkyl halide, with pyridine as catalyst. Said cationic arabinoxylan and the hydrophobically modified product thereof can be used as a conditioning agent or thickener in cosmetics or personal care compositions, and can also be used in textile, papermaking, pharmaceutical and food industry applications.
Abstract:
In some variations, a process is provided for producing a pulp product at a biorefinery site, comprising: converting a woody cellulosic material to a first pulp stream; converting a non-woody cellulosic material to a second pulp stream; blending the second pulp stream into the first pulp stream; and recovering or further processing the blended pulp stream as a pulp product. Biorefinery site infrastructure may be shared between the woody and non-woody lines. Also, the process may include process integration of mass and/or energy between the woody and non-woody lines. The process may be a retrofit addition to a pulp plant, or a greenfield biorefinery site. The non-woody line also can generate fermentable sugars, for fermentation to ethanol (or other products). Through allocation of carbon credits from the ethanol to the pulp, the final pulp product life-cycle profile can be improved.
Abstract:
Processes are described for fractionating lignocellulosic biomass into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, comprising fractionating lignocellulosic biomass in the presence of a solvent for lignin (such as ethanol), a hydrolysis catalyst (such as sulfur dioxide), and water, to produce a liquor containing hemicellulose, celluloserich solids, and lignin; hydrolyzing the hemicellulose to produce hemicellulosic monomers; saccharifying the cellulose-rich solids to produce glucose; recovering the hemicellulosic monomers and the glucose, separately or in a combined stream, as fermentable sugars; and fermenting the fermentable sugars to a fermentation product having a higher normal boiling point than water. Process integration of mass and/or energy is disclosed in many specific embodiments. The fermentation product may include an organic acid, an alcohol, a diol, or combinations thereof.
Abstract:
This invention relates to compositions that have utility, amongst others, in the stabilization of suspension particles or gas bubbles in fluid water-based compositions and/or in conferring shear thinning behavior to such fluid water-based compositions. The inventors have developed parenchymal cellulose based materials, which comprise cell wall derived networks of cellulose based fibers and nanofibrils, can advantageously be used for stabilization of suspended solid particles in fluid water-based compositions. Specific aspects of the invention concern the parenchymal cellulose based materials, their production and their use in fluid water-based compositions, as well as the resulting fluid water-based compositions per se.
Abstract:
The disclosed invention is a modification of the AVAP®? technology, employing CO 2 (or derivatives thereof) rather than SO 2 in the cooking liquor. In some variations, the invention provides a process for fractionating cellulosic biomass into cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, comprising: fractionating the feedstock in the presence of a solvent for lignin, carbon dioxide, and water, to produce a liquor containing hemicellulose, cellulose-rich solids, and lignin; substantially removing the cellulose-rich solids from the liquor; hydrolyzing the hemicellulose contained in the liquor, to produce hemicellulosic monomers; hydrolyzing at least some of the cellulose-rich solids to produce glucose (or recovering the cellulose-rich solids as a cellulose product); recovering the hemicellulosic monomers to produce fermentable sugars; and recovering the lignin which may be in the form of a lignocarbonate.