title: Enhancement in enzymatic hydrolysis by mechanical refining for pretreated hardwood lignocellulosics.
abstract: This study investigated the effectiveness of mechanical refining to overcome the biomass recalcitrance barrier. Laboratory scale refining was conducted via PFI mill and valley beater refiners using green liquor and Kraft hardwood pulps. A strong positive correlation was determined between sugar recovery and water retention value. Refining produced significant improvements in enzymatic hydrolysis yield relative to unrefined substrates (e.g., sugar recovery increase from 67% to 90%, for 15% lignin Kraft pulp). A maximum absolute enzymatic hydrolysis improvement with refining was observed at enzymatic hydrolysis conditions that produced intermediate conversion levels. For a 91% target sugar conversion, PFI refining at 4000 revolutions allowed for a 32% reduction in enzyme charge for 15% lignin content hardwood Kraft pulp and 96 h hydrolysis time, compared to the unrefined material.
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, Department of Forest Biomaterials, Biltmore Hall, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Brandon W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, Department of Forest Biomaterials, Biltmore Hall, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States. Electronic address: richard_venditti@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Venditti
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, Department of Forest Biomaterials, Biltmore Hall, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Sunkyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, Department of Forest Biomaterials, Biltmore Hall, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jameel
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, Department of Forest Biomaterials, Biltmore Hall, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Bonwook
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koo
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin
keywords: Biochemical conversion; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Hardwood biomass; Mechanical refining; Pretreatment