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Enzymatic hydrolysis of pelletized AFEX™‐treated corn stover at high solid loadings
Author(s) -
Bals Bryan D.,
Gunawan Christa,
Moore Janette,
Teymouri Farzaneh,
Dale Bruce E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.25022
Subject(s) - corn stover , chemistry , pelletizing , xylose , hydrolysis , biomass (ecology) , pellets , enzymatic hydrolysis , pellet , pulp and paper industry , stover , slurry , fermentation , food science , chromatography , agronomy , biochemistry , materials science , environmental science , environmental engineering , analytical chemistry (journal) , crop , composite material , biology , engineering
Ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX™) pretreatment can be performed at small depots, and the pretreated biomass can then be pelletized and shipped to a centralized refinery. To determine the feasibility of this approach, pelletized AFEX‐treated corn stover was hydrolyzed at high (18–36%) solid loadings. Water absorption and retention by the pellets was low compared to unpelletized stover, which allowed enzymatic hydrolysis slurries to remain well mixed without the need for fed‐batch addition. Glucose yields of 68% and xylose yields of 65% were obtained with 20 mg enzyme/g glucan and 18% solid loading after 72 h, compared to 61% and 59% for unpelletized corn stover. Pelletization also slightly increased the initial rate of hydrolysis compared to unpelletized biomass. The ease of mixing and high yields obtained suggests that pelletization after AFEX pretreatment could have additional advantages beyond improved logistical handling of biomass. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 264–271. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.