Bacillus coagulans MXL-9 was found capable of growing on pre-pulping hemicellulose extracts, utilizing all of the principle monosugars found in woody biomass. This organism is a moderate thermophile isolated from compost for its pentose-utilizing capabilities. It was found to have high tolerance for inhibitors such as acetic acid and sodium, which are present in pre-pulping hemicellulose extracts. Fermentation of 20 g/l xylose in the presence of 30 g/l acetic acid required a longer lag phase but overall lactic acid yield was not diminished. Similarly, fermentation of xylose in the presence of 20 g/l sodium increased the lag time but did not affect overall product yield, though 30 g/l sodium proved completely inhibitory. Fermentation of hot water-extracted Siberian larch containing 45 g/l total monosaccharides, mainly galactose and arabinose, produced 33 g/l lactic acid in 60 h and completely consumed all sugars. Small amounts of co-products were formed, including acetic acid, formic acid, and ethanol. Hemicellulose extract formed during autohydrolysis of mixed hardwoods contained mainly xylose and was converted into lactic acid with a 94% yield. Green liquor-extracted hardwood hemicellulose containing 10 g/l acetic acid and 6 g/l sodium was also completely converted into lactic acid at a 72% yield. The Bacillus coagulans MXL-9 strain was found to be well suited to production of lactic acid from lignocellulosic biomass due to its compatibility with conditions favorable to industrial enzymes and its ability to withstand inhibitors while rapidly consuming all pentose and hexose sugars of interest at high product yields.

Mixed southern hardwood chips were extracted with an alkaline wood pulping solution called kraft green liquor. This aqueous solution containing mainly sodium carbonate and sodium sulfide was applied at different alkali charges (expressed as Na 2 O) of 0, 2, 4, and 6% on dry wood weight. The extractions were performed at 160 °C for effective times ranging from about 1-2 h to determine the effect of extraction severity on pulp yield and composition of the extracted liquor. The severity of hemicellulose extraction time and alkaline charge controls the concentration of acetic acid and monosaccharide sugars available for downstream processing, the accumulation of degradation products such as organic acids and furans in the extract, and the pulp yield attainable for the extracted wood chips. As the alkali charge was increased, the amount of acetate side chains on the hemicelluloses and the dissolved lignin in the extract increased but the carbohydrate and sugars in the extract decreased appreciably. Water extraction (0% alkali addition) released the greatest amount of carbohydrates, up to 30 g/L measured as component sugars, but resulted in the greatest decrease in pulp yield, dropping from 47% to 35%. Extraction with 2% green liquor increased the pulp yield to 51% while greatly reducing the component sugars to 8 g/L. Data obtained in this work will allow selection of optimum hemicellulose extraction conditions for integrating the extraction operation into the Kraft pulping process.

In a forest based biorefinery, pulp and paper are the main products, while side-streams are utilized for value-added products. One biorefinery concept is to remove hemicelluloses from wood by extraction prior to pulping and converting them into biofuels or chemicals. This study presents a concept of a larch wood based biorefinery and focuses on the mass balance of pre-extraction. Sugar rich extracts were obtained by hot water extraction of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Lebed.) wood chips at different temperatures and times. At 1608C and 60-90 min the extract contains 13-16% hemicelluloses (on wood). The composition of extracts and extracted wood has been determined to have a basis for mass balances. Fermentation of the hydrolyzed extract with Bacillus coagulans MXL-9 resulted in consumption of all C6 and C5 sugars and produced lactic acid in high yield. In an earlier work, it was demonstrated that water pre-extraction of larch chips followed by polysulfide-anthraquinone (PSAQ) pulping still produced a good papermaking pulp at a yield comparable to the corresponding non-extracted kraft pulp. Accordingly, the present results show that a larch wood based biorefinery has a potential for industrial application.

No abstract