Improved value and carbon footprint by complete utilization of corncob lignocellulose

Abstract

Lignocellulose, as the most abundant type of inedible biomass, is considered as a promising renewable feedstock for making fuels, chemicals, and materials. However, its complex structure makes most of current biorefinery processes suffer from low resource utilization rates, high energy consumption or ill-defined market orientation of the obtained products. Here, we propose and evaluate the EXA (Ethanol, Xylose, Adhesive) biorefinery strategy based on current xylose industry. This process integrates four conversion and separation stages to consecutively produce ethanol, xylose, and adhesive with total carbon utilization of 79.6%. The key innovation is the establishment of an easy-to-operate process for direct production of high-quality adhesive from a lignin-rich liquid fraction that makes the overall process significantly more sustainable. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) shows that the revenue of proposed EXA process increases more than 110 times compares with the current process and life cycle assessment (LCA) demonstrates a much lower CO 2 footprint from an environmental burden per unit of revenue perspective.

Enhancing Lignin Dispersion and Bioconversion by Eliminating Thermal Sterilization

“…These results and analyses suggest that the ETS strategy is suitable for the fermentation using lignin as a sole carbon source. Lignocellulosic biorefinery presents a sustainable and promising route for the manufacturing of biofuels and chemicals. , An important target of biorefinery is to fractionate the major components of lignocellulosic biomass (e.g., cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose) into distinct streams so that they can be independently processed with highly selective biological or catalytic systems. , With various pretreatment methods, such as organic solvents, , deep eutectic solvents, and ionic liquids, lignin can be isolated and recovered effectively. With high purity, lignins originating from such biorefinery scenarios are also considered as suitable substrates for the ETS strategy.…”

Integrating energy-environmental functions into multifaceted lignocellulose valorization: high-performance supercapacitors and antibiotic decomposition

“…It can thus be concluded that the strategy of coupling carbon microspheres and Fe, N co-doped redox active sites endows the material with high capacitance and good rate capability. It is well known that the cycling stability is of vital importance in energy storage devices, therefore, the long-term working lifespan of S1 † for references: [1] wheat straw; [2] sawdust; [3] bamboo chips; [4] lignocellulose; [5] cotton; [6] hemp stem; [7] bamboo; [8] larch sawdust; [9] rice straw; [10]…”

“…Moreover, current industrial technologies involving lignocellulose valorization are fully focused on carbohydrate translation in paper making and bioethanol, which severely suppresses their overall functional diversity. 4 With its unique hierarchical structure, ability to act as a chemical-energy reservoir, and capability of CO 2 fixation and ion/water transportation, lignocellulose is a common candidate that can impart both energy attributes and water purification into traditional biorefining platforms. 5 In this regard, the expansion of multifaceted and cost-competitive lignocellulose valorization covering a product portfolio that aligns with the requirements of the petroleum equivalents is a highly important issue.…”

“…6 Based on the commercial xylose industry, Yuan et al proposed the EXA biorefining approach to successively produce ethanol, xylose, and adhesive with total carbon utilization of 79.6%, which established the integrated chemical engineering procedure with an opportunity for overall sustainability. 4 A technique that coupled hydrothermal and deep eutectic solvent extractions was developed to deconstruct lignocellulose into a cellulose-rich fraction, watersoluble hemicellulose, and detachable lignin, which correspond to three nanomaterials, i.e., lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers, activated nanocarbons, and lignin nanoparticles, respectively. 3 It is thus highly anticipated that the scalable biorefining route will fractionate lignocellulose in a multiscale engineering manner and that the lignocellulose could be universally upgraded into value-added products.…”

“…(B) Cyclic voltammetry (CV), (C) electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS), (D) galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), (E) the specific capacitances at various current densities from 0.3 to 20 A g −1 , cycling performances at the current densities of (F) 5 A g −1 and (G) 10 A g −1 (the inset images depict the last 10 cycles of the GCD curves) of the Fe-N-C electrode. (H) The specific capacitance/surface area comparisons of lignocellulose-based electrodes for supercapacitors (see TableS1† for references:[1] wheat straw;[2] sawdust;[3] bamboo chips;[4] lignocellulose;[5] cotton;[6] hemp stem;[7] bamboo;[8] larch sawdust;[9] rice straw; [10] corn).…”