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Poster Presentation 3-15
Acetic Acid Pretreatment for Softwood Bioconversion
Xiao Zhang, Liam Jeffers, David Gregg and John Saddler
Forest Products Biotechnology, Faculty of Forestry 4033-2424 Main Mall, University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Canada
Telephone/Fax: (604) 822-2467; E-mail: saddler@interchg.ubc.ca
A novel pretreatment technology based on an acetic acid pulping method was developed to enhance the conversion of Douglass fir wood chips to ethanol. The pretreatment was carried out at 160˚C for 1 hour in the presence of a 95% acetic acid solution, followed by a subsequent H2O2 delignification step. The final substrate had a lignin content of about 3-4% and the cellulose content was more than 95%. This substrate was very susceptible to enzyme hydrolysis. The total glucose recovery after pretreatment was over 90%, while the recovery rates on both mannose and galactose were also significantly higher than previously obtained with other pretreatment technologies. More importantly, this process provided a 60% recovery of the original lignin. This lignin was shown to have high reactivity and functionality. The strategies of using this pretreatment with the subsequent enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation to convert softwood residues into biomass ethanol and the potential application of lignin products will be discussed in this paper.
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