Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum vergatum) is a potential feedstock for future cellulosic biorefineries. Such a feedstock may also provide protein, most likely for use as an animal feed. In this paper, we present a potential scheme for integrating fiber processing with extractions to obtain both sugar and protein products from switchgrass pretreated using Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX). Solutions of 3% aqueous ammonia at pH 10.5 provided optimal extraction of proteins. Addition of the nonionic surfactant Tween-80 improved protein recovery for AFEX-treated materials. It was determined that an extraction following AFEX solubilized approximately 40% of the protein, while a subsequent hydrolysis solubilized much of the remaining protein while producing 325 g sugar per kg biomass. The remaining insoluble residue contained very little protein or ash, making it ideal for heat and power production. In contrast, an extraction following hydrolysis solubilized only 68% of the original protein in the biomass, while obtaining slightly higher sugar yields.
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Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was provided by the Midwest Consortium for Biobased Products and Bioenergy under contract number DE-FG36-04GO14220 from the United States Department of Energy. Additional funding was provided by the Michigan Research Foundation. We would like to thank Dr. David Bransby of Auburn University for his generous donation of the switchgrass material used in this project. We would also like to thank Dr. Joseph Leykam at the Macromolecular Structure, Sequencing, and Synthesis Facility at Michigan State University for performing the amino acid analyses. In addition, we thank Drs. Fred Eller and Bruce Dien at the USDA’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research for their support in the early stages of this project.
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Bals, B., Teachworth, L., Dale, B. et al. Extraction of Proteins from Switchgrass Using Aqueous Ammonia within an Integrated Biorefinery. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 143, 187–198 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-007-0045-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-007-0045-0