SINGLE STEP PROCESS FOR SEPARATING BIOMASS COMPONENTS
First Claim
1. A process for obtaining cellulose from biomass in a form amenable to complete enzymatic hydrolysis, said process comprising contacting the biomass with a mixture of an organic solvent immiscible in water, an acid and a metal salt catalyst dissolved in the acidic water solution under predetermined temperature and pressure and filtering the reaction mixture under pressure to separate the dissolved lignin, hemciellulose in the solvent and aqueous phase respectively and leaving behind pure cellulose.
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Abstract
The invention is directed towards a method of pretreatment of a lignocellulose containing biomass so as to make the biomass amenable to enzymatic digestion. More particularly, the instant application discloses a single step separation of biomass into individual components such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin without losing chemical nature and with high purity at a time.
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Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A process for obtaining cellulose from biomass in a form amenable to complete enzymatic hydrolysis, said process comprising contacting the biomass with a mixture of an organic solvent immiscible in water, an acid and a metal salt catalyst dissolved in the acidic water solution under predetermined temperature and pressure and filtering the reaction mixture under pressure to separate the dissolved lignin, hemciellulose in the solvent and aqueous phase respectively and leaving behind pure cellulose.
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12. A system for obtaining cellulose from biomass comprising:
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a) a reactor chamber for containing biomass, having (i) a first inlet for supplying mixture of an organic solvent, (ii) a second inlet and (iii) at least one outlet; b) a boiler in fluid flow communication with the second inlet of the reactor chamber for supplying steam to the reactor chamber, c) a receiver coupled to the outlet of the reactor chamber for receiving hydrolysate from reactor chamber; d) a steam distillation assembly for the removing traces of solvent in the aqueous fraction and precipitating the lignin in the solvent fraction. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification