Toward Complete Utilization of Miscanthus in a Hot-Water Extraction-Based Biorefinery

Kuo-Ting Wang, Chengyan Jing, Christopher Wood, Aditi Nagardeolekar, Neil Kohan, Prajakta Dongre, Thomas E. Amidon and Biljana M. Bujanovic
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Kuo-Ting Wang: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Chengyan Jing: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Christopher Wood: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Aditi Nagardeolekar: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Neil Kohan: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Prajakta Dongre: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Thomas E. Amidon: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Biljana M. Bujanovic: Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA

Energies, 2017, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Miscanthus ( Miscanthus sp. Family: Poaceae ) was hot-water extracted (two h, at 160 °C) at three scales: laboratory (Parr reactor, 300 cm 3 ), intermediate (M/K digester, 4000 cm 3 ), and pilot (65 ft 3 -digester, 1.841 × 10 6 cm 3 ). Hot-water extracted miscanthus, hydrolyzate, and lignin recovered from hydrolyzate were characterized and evaluated for potential uses aiming at complete utilization of miscanthus. Effects of scale-up on digester yield, removal of hemicelluloses, deashing, delignification degree, lignin recovery and purity, and cellulose retention were studied. The scale-dependent results demonstrated that before implementation, hot-water extraction (HWE) should be evaluated on a scale larger than a laboratory scale. The production of energy-enriched fuel pellets from hot-water extracted miscanthus, especially in combination with recovered lignin is recommended, as energy of combustion increased gradually from native to hot-water extracted miscanthus to recovered lignin. The native and pilot-scale hot-water extracted miscanthus samples were also subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using a cellulase-hemicellulase cocktail, to produce fermentable sugars. Hot-water extracted biomass released higher amount of glucose and xylose verifying benefits of HWE as an effective pretreatment for xylan-rich lignocellulosics. The recovered lignin was used to prepare a formaldehyde-free alternative to phenol-formaldehyde resins and as an antioxidant. Promising results were obtained for these lignin valorization pathways.

Keywords: miscanthus; hot-water extraction; scale-up; lignin as an antioxidant; lignin-based formaldehyde-free resins; enzymatic hydrolysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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