Precision Lignocellulosic Biorefinery: Process Regulation From Corn Stover to Products

Area of Science:

• Biomass Valorization
• Sustainable Chemistry
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Lignocellulosic biorefineries are key to sustainable industrial practices but face challenges from component cross-interference.
• Effective regulation strategies are needed throughout the entire biorefining process, not just during pretreatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a whole-process regulation strategy for corn stover biorefining.
• To address cross-interference issues between cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
• To enable directed valorization of all biomass components.

Main Methods:

• Mechanical fractionation to separate corn stover into short and long fibers.
• Methanol treatment during steam explosion to control lignin condensation in short fibers.
• Carbon quantum dot enhancement during enzymatic hydrolysis of short fibers.
• Two-stage selective enzymatic hydrolysis for long fibers to produce cellulose nanocrystals.

Main Results:

• Optimized cellulose conversion and mild lignin depolymerization for epoxy resins from short fibers.
• Production of high-crystallinity cellulose nanocrystals from long fibers.
• A 36.7% revenue increase compared to an unregulated process was demonstrated via techno-economic analysis.

Conclusions:

• The developed whole-process regulation strategy enables precision biorefining by guiding fractionation based on biomass heterogeneity.
• This approach ensures compatibility between biomass attributes, process conditions, and product specifications.
• The innovations have been industrially validated, demonstrating practical applicability.