Cell-type-dependent enzymatic hydrolysis of palm residues: chemical and surface characterization of fibers and parenchyma cells

Carnauba (Copernicia prunifera) straw residue generated from production of its wax is rich in cellulose, thus showing a potential use in the production of second generation ethanol. However, the high lignin and hemicellulose load associated with cellulose makes it difficult the enzymatic attack, thus having the need of an adequate pretreatment of this material. The objective of this study was to optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of carnauba straw residue, focusing on the alkaline biomass pretreatment. Therefore, NaOH solutions at concentrations of 1.0% (w/v) (PA1), 2.0% (w/v) (PA2), 3.0% (w/v) (PA3) and 4.0% (w/v) (PA4) were used. The chemical and physical characterization of natural and pre-treated carnauba straw were according to the NREL, and DRX and FTIR performed analyzes. The materials chemical characterization showed that all the used pretreatments were able to remove a significant amount of lignin and hemicellulose, which can improve the enzymes access, favoring the increase of cellulose conversion. In relation to DRX analysis an increase in crystallinity index happens reaching up to 55.15% after the pretreatment PA4, which may be associated to the removal of hemicellulose and amorphous lignin, related to cellulose. After a period of 96 hours of enzymatic hydrolysis, the PA4 pretreated residue showed the best performance with a cellulosic conversion of 78%. Spite of a slightly lower performance of the residue that presented higher cellulose conversion, the pretreated material PA2 is an alternative to reduce costs in the cellulosic ethanol production.

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Effects of Rhamnolipids on Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Bamboo Biomass and Mechanism

Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy ◽

10.1166/jbmb.2020.1985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 453-460

Author(s):

Ruyi Sha ◽

Zhan Yu ◽

Zhenzhen Wang ◽

Edwin Menledy Gbor ◽

Ligang Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Enzymatic Hydrolysis ◽

Fluorescence Probe ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Dilute Acid ◽

Site Of Action ◽

The Stability ◽

Surface Modified ◽

Hydrolysis Of ◽

Positive Effect

The lignin present in lignocellulose seriously affects the efficiency of cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis. In addition, lignin adsorbs high-cost cellulase, causing greater economic losses. Lignin can also disturb the site of action of cellulase and reduce the efficiency of hydrolysis. Therefore, if lignin is removed or surface modified before cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis, the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass will be greatly improved. In this paper, the cellulose enzymatic properties of bamboo biomass being treated with dilute acid and alkaline under the intervention of biosurfactant rhamnolipid were evaluated. The effects of rhamnolipids on the adsorption characterization of cellulose on pretreated bamboo were studied. Besides, the inter-communication between rhamnolipids and cellulose was investigated by fluorescence probe. The results showed that rhamnolipids could have a positive effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis of bamboo biomass by reducing the non-productive adsorption of cellulase on the surface of lignocellulose. The outcome illustrated that cellulase could be combined with rhamnolipids micelles, participating in the formation of rhamnolipids micelles, thereby increasing the internal hydrophobicity of the micelles, but could not change the properties of rhamnolipids micelles higher than one CMC (Critical Micelle Concentration). It can be seen that the interaction between rhamnolipids and cellulase is beneficial to enhance the stability and enzymatic activity of cellulase, thereby improving the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose in biomass. Based on these results, a theoretical knowledge about the mechanism of enhancing the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of lignocellulose by biosurfactants rhamnolipids is provided.

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