Hydrothermal co-hydrolysis of corncob/sugarcane bagasse/Broussonetia papyrifera blends: Kinetics, thermodynamics and fermentation

Analysis of the conversion of cellulose present in lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production

Among the steps for the conversion of biomass into bioenergy, there is enzymatic hydrolysis. However, factors such as composition, formation of inhibitors, inhibition and enzymatic deactivation can affect the yield and productivity of this process. Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. However, lignin is organized in a complex and non-uniform way, promotes biomass recalcitrance, which repress the enzymatic attack on cellulose to be converted into glucose, and, consequently, the production of biofuel. Thus, a challenge in enzymatic hydrolysis is to model the reaction behavior. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the performance in enzymatic hydrolysis for the conversion of cellulose present in sugarcane bagasse into glucose. Therefore, modeling and optimization will be proposed to produce high glucose concentration rates. Therefore, a previously developed study will be used, in which the authors proposed a kinetic model for the hydrolysis step. However, as a differential to what has been proposed, the calculation will be carried out evaluating the evaporation, in order to maximize the response to the glucose concentration. Thus, considering evaporation and optimized kinetic parameters, it was possible to obtain high rates of glucose concentration at 204.23 $g.L^{-1.

Genetic manipulation strategies for ethanol production from bioconversion of lignocellulose waste

Lignocellulose waste was served as promising raw material for bioethanol production. Bioethanol was considered to be a potential alternative energy to take the place of fossil fuels. Lignocellulosic biomass synthesized by plants is regenerative, sufficient and cheap source for bioethanol production. The biotransformation of lignocellulose could exhibit dual significance-reduction of pollution and obtaining of energy. Some strategies are being developing and increasing the utilization of lignocellulose waste to produce ethanol. New technology of bioethanol production from natural lignocellulosic biomass is required. In this paper, the progress in genetic manipulation strategies including gene editing and synthetic genomics for the transformation from lignocellulose to ethanol was reviewed. At last, the application prospect of bioethanol was introduced.

Production of methyl levulinate from cellulose over cobalt disulfide: The importance of the crystal facet (111)

The conversion of cellulose to platform chemicals has attracted much attention because of its renewability. This work proposed an earth-abundant cobalt disulfide as a heterogeneous catalyst for methyl levulinate production from cellulose. The highest yield of methyl levulinate reached 61 mol% under the tested conditions of 200 °C, 2 MPa initial pressure, 0.45 catalyst/cellulose mass ratio, and 3 h reaction time. The XRD and TEM analyses demonstrated the crystal facet (111) of cobalt disulfide as a robust active site, which was in good agreement with the highest acidity of the crystal facet (111) calculated by the work functions. The XPS characterization showed that the main chemical valence of cobalt disulfide responsible for the methyl levulinate production was the surface Co²⁺ species. This study is valuable for the development of a recoverable catalyst for the cellulose to methyl levulinate process.