Methods for treating lignocellulosic materials

• US 9,631,246 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Virdia LLC (Stora Enso Oyj)
• Original Assignee: Virdia, Inc. (Stora Enso Oyj)
• Inventors: Jansen, Robert, Gregoire, Claire, Travisano, Philip, Madsen, Lee, Matis, Neta, Har-Tal, Yael Miriam, Eliahu, Shay, Lawson, James Alan, Lapidot, Noa, Burke, Luke, Eyal, Aharon M., Bauer, Timothy Allen, Sade, Hagit, McWilliams, Paul, Zviely, Michael, Carden, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Zalasky, Katherine
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEBRON, BENJAMIN L
• Application Number:
  US14/537,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20150136121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/1821 Simulated moving beds
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/1828 characterized by process features
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/362 Cation-exchange
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2215/023 Simulated moving beds
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 39/26 Cation exchangers for chromatographic processes
• CPC Class Codes: C07G 1/00 Lignin; Lignin derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: C08B 37/0057 beta-D-Xylans, i.e. xylosaccharide, e.g. arabinoxylan, arabinofuronan, pentosans; (beta-1,3)(beta-1,4)-D-Xylans, e.g. rhodymenans; Hemicellulose; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08H 6/00 Macromolecular compounds derived from lignin, e.g. tannins, humic acids
• CPC Class Codes: C08H 8/00 Macromolecular compounds derived from lignocellulosic materials pretreatment thereof B27N
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 1/00 Glucose separation from invert sugar C13K3/00; Glucose-containing syrups
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 1/02 obtained by saccharification of cellulosic materials manufacture of fodder A23K10/32
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 11/00 Fructose separation from invert sugar C13K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/00 Sugars not otherwise provided for in this class
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/002 Xylose
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/007 Separation of sugars provided for in subclass C13K C13K3/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: D21C 11/0042 Fractionating or concentration of spent liquors by special methods concentration by evaporation D21C11/10
• CPC Class Codes: D21C 11/005 Treatment of liquors with ion-exchangers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 30/20 using bio-feedstock

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods of processing lignocellulosic material to obtain hemicellulose sugars, cellulose sugars, lignin, cellulose and other high-value products. Also provided are hemicellulose sugars, cellulose sugars, lignin, cellulose, and other high-value products.

Claims

1. A method of fractionating a hemicellulose sugar mixture, the method comprising:

(i) fractionating the hemicellulose sugar mixture with a sequential simulated moving bed chromatography sequence, wherein the sequential simulated moving bed chromatography sequence comprises;

(1) passing a feed stream into an adsorbent, thereby flushing a first raffinate stream from the adsorbent;

(2) flushing a second raffinate stream from the adsorbent with a desorbent stream; and

(3) recycling the desorbent stream back to the adsorbent; and

(ii) recovering a first product stream and a second product stream from the sequential simulated moving bed chromatography sequence, wherein the first product stream is extracted in (1) and the second product stream is extracted in (2), and wherein the hemicellulose sugar mixture is thereby fractionated to produce a xylose-enriched stream and a xylose-removed hemicellulose sugar mixture,

wherein the first product stream and the second product stream are each enriched in xylose relative to the feed stream.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a desorbent flow rate of the sequential simulated moving bed chromatography sequence is within 60-140% of the sum of a flow rate of the first product stream and a flow rate of the second product stream, and the sum of a flow rate of the first raffinate stream and a flow rate of the second raffinate stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequential simulated moving bed chromatography sequence comprises an ion-exchange resin.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the ion-exchange resin is an anion exchange resin.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the ion-exchange resin has a particle size in the range of 200 μ

m-400 μ

m.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the ion-exchange resin has a particle size in the range of 280 μ

m-320 μ

m.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises at least 79% xylose out of total sugars.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-removed hemicellulose sugar mixture comprises xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars of <

0.40 weight/weight.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the xylose-removed hemicellulose sugar mixture comprises xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars of <

0.20 weight/weight.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-removed hemicellulose sugar mixture is obtained from the first raffinate stream and the second raffinate stream.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-removed hemicellulose sugar mixture comprises higher sugars, glucose, galactose, and arabinose.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars >

0.50 weight/weight.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises oligosaccharides in a ratio to total dissolved sugars <

0.10 weight/weight.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises arabinose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars <

0.10 weight/weight.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises galactose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars <

0.05 weight/weight.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises glucose and fructose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars <

0.10 weight/weight.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the xylose-enriched stream comprises furfurals in a ratio to dry biomass up to 0.01% weight/weight.