title: Enhanced enzymatic saccharification of pretreated biomass using glycerol thermal processing (GTP).
abstract: Biomass was heated (200-240°C) in the presence of glycerol, for 4-12 min, under shear to disrupt the native cell wall architecture. The impact of this method, named glycerol thermal processing (GTP), on saccharification efficiency of the hardwood Liquidambar styraciflua, and a control cellulose sample was studied as a function of treatment severity. Furthermore, the enzymatic conversion of samples with varying compositions was studied after extraction of the structural polymers. Interestingly, the sweet gum processed materials crystallinity index increased by 10% of the initial value. The experiments revealed that the residual lignin was not a barrier to limiting the digestibility of cellulose after pretreatment yielding up to 70% glucose based on the starting wood material. Further xylan removal greatly improved the cellulose hydrolysis rate, converting nearly 70% of the cellulose into glucose within 24h, and reaching 78% of ultimate glucan digestibility after 72 h.
authors.affiliation: Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States; Department of Sustainable Biomaterials, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, United States.
authors.forename: Noppadon
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sathitsuksanoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg 24061, United States.
authors.forename: Justin R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.affiliation: Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T1Z4, Canada. Electronic address: scott.renneckar@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Renneckar
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D002473:Cell Wall; D002480:Cellulase / Q000737:chemistry; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry; D005936:Glucans; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry; D031317:Liquidambar / Q000737:chemistry; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D005936:Glucans; D002482:Cellulose; D008031:Lignin; D002480:Cellulase; D005990:Glycerol
keywords: Biomass pretreatment; Delignificaton; Enzymatic saccharification; Glycerol thermal processing (GTP); Xylan removal