Case studies on sugar production from underutilized woody biomass using sulfite chemistry

Junyong Zhu; M. Subhosh Chandra; Roland L. Gleisner; William Gilles; Johnway Gao; Gevan Marrs; Dwight Anderson; John Sessions

Treesearch

Case studies on sugar production from underutilized woody biomass using sulfite chemistry

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Junyong Zhu, M. Subhosh Chandra, Roland L. Gleisner, William Gilles, Johnway Gao, Gevan Marrs, Dwight Anderson, John Sessions

Year:

2015

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

Source:

Tappi Journal. 14(9): 577-583.

Download (PDF 537 KB)

Download (PDF 537 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/49707.pdf

Abstract

We examined two case studies to demonstrate the advantages of sulfite chemistry for pretreating underutilized woody biomass to produce sugars through enzymatic saccharification. In the first case study, we evaluated knot rejects from a magnesium-basedsulfite mill for direct enzymatic sugar production.We found that the sulfite mill rejects are an excellent feedstock for sugar production. In the second study, we presented SPORL (sulfite pretreatment to overcome the recalcitrance of lignocelluloses),a sulfite pretreatment process based on modified sulfite pulping for robust bioconversion of softwood forest residues. Sulfite pulping technology is well developed, with proven commercial scalability, and sulfite pretreatment is a strong contender for commercial adoption.

Keywords

Forest residues, ethanol, pretreatment, high solids, enzymatic saccharification and fermentation

Citation

Zhu, J.Y.; Chandra, M. Subhosh; Gleisner, Roland; Gilles, William; Gao, Johnway; Marrs, Gevan; Anderson, Dwight; Sessions, John. 2015. Case studies on sugar production from underutilized woody biomass using sulfite chemistry. Tappi Journal. 14(9): 577-583.