PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A CONCENTRATED SUGAR SOLUTION BY ENZYMATIC SACCHARIFICATION OF POLYSACCHARIDE ENRICHED BIOMASS
First Claim
1. A method of producing a concentrated sugar solution from biomass, the method comprising:
- a) delignifying biomass comprising the substeps ofi) contacting with water and at least one nucleophilic base, a biomass comprising lignin and having a glucan/xylan weight ratio G1/X1 to form a biomass slurry having a pH of about 12.5 to about 13.0; and
ii) maintaining the biomass slurry under reaction conditions such that the slurry attains a pH of about 9.5 to about 10.0 and has a a glucan/xylan weight ratio G2/X2 within about 15% of the value of G1/X1, and wherein the slurry comprises a lignin-containing liquid fraction and a solid fraction comprising a polysaccharide enriched biomass;
wherein G1 and G2 are grams of glucan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively, and X1 and X2 are grams of xylan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively; and
b) contacting with a saccharification enzyme consortium an aqueous suspension of at least a portion of the solid fraction of the polysaccharide enriched biomass,the solid fraction of the polysaccharide enriched biomass being 13 weight percent to about 30 weight percent of the aqueous suspension,at reaction conditions sufficient to produce a saccharification product comprising at least about 7 percent by weight sugars, based on the total weight of the saccharification product, in 24 hours of contact with the saccharification enzyme consortium.
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Abstract
Methods for obtaining concentrated sugar solution from polysaccharide enriched biomass by contacting biomass with water and at least one nucleophilic base to produce a polysaccharide enriched biomass comprising a solid fraction and a liquid fraction and then contacting the solid fraction with saccharification enzyme consortium to produce a saccharification product comprising at least about 7 percent by weight sugars in 24 hours. The methods include optionally adding at least one additive selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, fatty acid esters, fatty acid ethoxylates, nonionic surfactants derived from polyethoxylated sorbitan and a fatty acid, sodium lauriminodipropionate, sodium cocoamphoacetate, sodium tridecyl ether sulfate and a combination of these, such that enzyme loading of the saccharification enzyme consortium can be reduced.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of producing a concentrated sugar solution from biomass, the method comprising:
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a) delignifying biomass comprising the substeps of i) contacting with water and at least one nucleophilic base, a biomass comprising lignin and having a glucan/xylan weight ratio G1/X1 to form a biomass slurry having a pH of about 12.5 to about 13.0; and ii) maintaining the biomass slurry under reaction conditions such that the slurry attains a pH of about 9.5 to about 10.0 and has a a glucan/xylan weight ratio G2/X2 within about 15% of the value of G1/X1, and wherein the slurry comprises a lignin-containing liquid fraction and a solid fraction comprising a polysaccharide enriched biomass; wherein G1 and G2 are grams of glucan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively, and X1 and X2 are grams of xylan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively; and b) contacting with a saccharification enzyme consortium an aqueous suspension of at least a portion of the solid fraction of the polysaccharide enriched biomass, the solid fraction of the polysaccharide enriched biomass being 13 weight percent to about 30 weight percent of the aqueous suspension, at reaction conditions sufficient to produce a saccharification product comprising at least about 7 percent by weight sugars, based on the total weight of the saccharification product, in 24 hours of contact with the saccharification enzyme consortium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method to produce a concentrated sugar solution from biomass, the method comprising:
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a) providing biomass having undergone a delignification process to become a delignified biomass comprising greater than about 85 percent polysaccharides on a dry weight basis; b) contacting with a saccharification enzyme consortium an aqueous suspension of the delignified biomass, the concentration of the delignified biomass in the aqueous suspension being from about 13 weight percent to about 30 weight percent, at reaction conditions sufficient to produce a saccharification product comprising at least about 7 percent by weight sugars, based on the total weight of the saccharification product, in 24 hours of contact with the saccharification enzyme consortium. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for delignifying a biomass to produce a polysaccharide enriched biomass, the process comprising:
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a) contacting with water and at least one nucleophilic base, a biomass comprising lignin and having a glucan/xylan weight ratio G1/X1 to form a biomass slurry having a pH of about 12.5 to about 13.0; and b) maintaining the biomass slurry under reaction conditions such that the slurry attains a pH of about 9.5 to about 10.0 and has a a glucan/xylan weight ratio G2/X2 within about 15% of the value of G1/X1, and wherein the slurry comprises a lignin-containing liquid fraction and a solid fraction comprising a polysaccharide enriched biomass; wherein G1 and G2 are grams of glucan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively, and X1 and X2 are grams of xylan per 100 grams of biomass and biomass slurry respectively.
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16. A polysaccharide enriched biomass produced by the process of claim 16.
Specification