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Acidogenic Digestion of Pre-pulping Extracts for Production of Fuels and Bioproducts Via Carboxylate Platform Processing

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Abstract

Hemicellulose extracted from wood prior to processing the wood into paper or composite materials can be a resource for the production of biofuels or bioproducts. Mixed microbial cultures are capable of converting biomass into mixed carboxylic acids, which can be purified as products or converted to biofuels or other biochemicals. Mixed cultures are robust conversion systems and do not require added enzymes to hydrolyze biomass to sugars. We produced mixed carboxylic acids using mesophilic and thermophilic fermentation of raw, unconditioned green liquor and hot water hardwood extracts, as well as baseline sugar solutions. Daily samples were taken from the fermentations and analyzed for composition, pH, and gas volume. The extract digestions were capable of hydrolyzing oligomeric hemicellulose without supplemental enzymes and converting all types of released sugars. Lactic acid was prominent in lower pH systems and acetic acid, the main product at more neutral pH. Compared to thermophilic systems, mesophilic fermentations had higher hydrolysis conversion, carbohydrate conversion, acid yields, and selectivity for C3–C7 acids. Carbon balances on the wood extracts closed to within ±9%. Methane production in all cases was essentially zero.

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Notes

  1. Abbreviations introduced in this paper include the following: GL, green liquor; HW, hot water; Aceq, acetic acid equivalent

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, EPSCoR Grant # 0554545 and by the Department of Energy contract # DE-FG36-08GO18165. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Clay Wheeler for his assistance and mentorship, Drs. Byung-Hwan Um and Stephen Shaler for providing green liquor and hot water extracts for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Maine, 5737 Jenness Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Rakhi Baddam & G. Peter van Walsum

  2. Current address: PPD Pharmaceutical, 7551 Metro Center Drive, Suite 300, Austin, TX, 78744, USA

    Rakhi Baddam

Authors
  1. Rakhi Baddam
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  2. G. Peter van Walsum
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Correspondence to G. Peter van Walsum.

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Baddam, R., van Walsum, G.P. Acidogenic Digestion of Pre-pulping Extracts for Production of Fuels and Bioproducts Via Carboxylate Platform Processing. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 182, 1076–1094 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2383-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2383-2

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