Fractionation of Cynara cardunculus L. by Acidified Organosolv Treatment for the Extraction of Highly Digestible Cellulose and Technical Lignin

Tommaso Giannoni, Mattia Gelosia, Alessandro Bertini, Giacomo Fabbrizi, Andrea Nicolini, Valentina Coccia, Paola Iodice and Gianluca Cavalaglio
Additional contact information
Tommaso Giannoni: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Mattia Gelosia: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Alessandro Bertini: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Giacomo Fabbrizi: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Andrea Nicolini: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Valentina Coccia: CIRIAF—Biomass Research Centre, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 63, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Paola Iodice: Department of Civil Engineering, Pegaso Telematic University, 80143 Naples, Italy
Gianluca Cavalaglio: Department of Civil Engineering, Pegaso Telematic University, 80143 Naples, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: One of the primary targets for the new lignocellulosic feedstock-based biorefinery is the simultaneous valorization of holocellulose and lignin. Acidified organosolv treatment is among the most promising strategy for recovering technical lignin, water-soluble hemicellulose, and cellulose pulp with increased accessibility to hydrolytic enzymes. In this work, a design-of-experiment (DoE) approach was used to increase the cellulose recovery, digestibility, and the delignification of Cynara cardunculus L. feedstock. In the first treatment, the milled biomass was subjected to microwave-assisted extraction using an acidified GVL/water mixture to separate lignin and hemicellulose from cellulose. In the second treatment, the cellulose pulp was hydrolyzed by cellulolytic enzymes to demonstrate the enhanced digestibility. At the optimal condition (154 °C, 2.24% H 2 SO 4 , and 0.62 GVL/water ratio), the cellulose pulp showed a cellulose content of 87.59%, while the lignin content was lower than 8%. The cellulose recovery and digestibility were equal to 79.46% and 86.94%, respectively. About 40% of the initial hemicellulose was recovered as monosaccharides. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the two-step organosolv treatment for biomass fractionation; however, as suggested by DoE analysis, a confirmative study at a low temperature (<154 °C) should be performed to further increase the cellulose recovery.

Keywords: Cynara cardunculus L.; organosolv treatment; biomass fractionation; cellulose saccharification; delignification; ?-Valerolactone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8714/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8714/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8714-:d:608344

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().