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Detoxification of lignocellulosic prehydrolyzate by lignin nanoparticles prepared from biorefinery biowaste to improve the ethanol production

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Abstract

This study proposed a recyclable p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) fractionation process for co-producing lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) and fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biorefinery biowaste (enzymatic hydrolysis residue (EHR)). The prepared LNPs were used to detoxify the inhibitors in the xylose-rich prehydrolyzate for improving ethanol production. Results showed that the EHR was fractionated into a cellulose-rich water-insoluble solid (WIS) fraction and a lignin-rich spent liquor (SL) fraction. Cellulase hydrolysis of WIS produced 97.7% of glucose yield, while the LNPs of an average particle size of 98.0 nm with 76.3 % yield (based on the untreated EHR) were obtained from the diluted SL. LNPs demonstrated higher detoxification ability than EHR at the same dosage. Moreover, the fermentability of the detoxified xylose-rich prehydrolyzate was significantly improved. The sugar utilization ratio was 94.8%, and the ethanol yield reached its peak value of 85.4% after 36 h of fermenting the detoxified xylose-rich prehydrolyzate.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0601001) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Funding

The National Key Research and Development Program of China, 2017YFD0601001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Junjun Zhu, Ningxin Jiao, Han Zhang, Guangliu Xu & Yong Xu

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  1. Junjun Zhu
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  2. Ningxin Jiao
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  3. Han Zhang
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  4. Guangliu Xu
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Correspondence to Junjun Zhu.

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Zhu, J., Jiao, N., Zhang, H. et al. Detoxification of lignocellulosic prehydrolyzate by lignin nanoparticles prepared from biorefinery biowaste to improve the ethanol production. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 45, 1011–1018 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-022-02720-0

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