Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026

Production of Chemicals by Klebsiella pneumoniae Using Bamboo Hydrolysate as Feedstock
Published on: June 29, 2017
Nonenzymatic sugar production from biomass using biomass-derived γ-valerolactone
Jeremy S Luterbacher1, Jacqueline M Rand, David Martin Alonso
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Abstract:
Widespread production of biomass-derived fuels and chemicals will require cost-effective processes for breaking down cellulose and hemicellulose into their constituent sugars. Here, we report laboratory-scale production of soluble carbohydrates from corn stover, hardwood, and softwood at high yields (70 to 90%) in a solvent mixture of biomass-derived γ-valerolactone (GVL), water, and dilute acid (0.05 weight percent H2SO4). GVL promotes thermocatalytic saccharification through complete solubilization of the biomass, including the lignin fraction. The carbohydrates can be recovered and concentrated (up to 127 grams per liter) by extraction from GVL into an aqueous phase by addition of NaCl or liquid CO2. This strategy is well suited for catalytic upgrading to furans or fermentative upgrading to ethanol at high titers and near theoretical yield. We estimate through preliminary techno-economic modeling that the overall process could be cost-competitive for ethanol production, with biomass pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis.
Related Concept Videos
Production of Organic Acids
Fates of Pyruvate
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...
Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
Energy-requiring Steps of Glycolysis
Glycolysis: Preparatory Phase
Microbial Fermentation

