High-concentration sugars production from corn stover based on combined pretreatments and fed-batch process

Area of Science:

• Biomass Conversion
• Biochemical Engineering
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Corn stover is an abundant lignocellulosic biomass resource.
• Efficient conversion of corn stover to sugars is crucial for biofuel production.
• Pretreatment is necessary to overcome the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient pretreatment method for corn stover.
• To optimize fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis for high sugar yields.
• To achieve high concentrations of fermentable sugars from corn stover.

Main Methods:

• Corn stover was pretreated using a combination of steam explosion and alkaline hydrogen-peroxide.
• Cellulose content was analyzed after pretreatment.
• Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis was performed with sequential solid feeding.
• Sugar concentrations were measured after 144 hours.

Main Results:

• Pretreatment significantly removed hemicellulose and lignin, increasing cellulose content to 73.2%.
• Fed-batch hydrolysis achieved final concentrations of 220 g/L reducing sugar, 175 g/L glucose, 22 g/L cellobiose, and 20 g/L xylose.
• The overall biomass conversion reached 60% in the fed-batch process.

Conclusions:

• The combined steam explosion and alkaline hydrogen-peroxide pretreatment is effective for corn stover.
• Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis is a viable strategy for high-gravity sugar production.
• This process offers a promising route for the industrial production of sugars from corn stover.