Abstract

Lignocellulosic feedstocks for biorefinery are likely to be seasonal and the supply of feedstock to cellulosic biorefineries remains a challenge. One way to overcome this is by utilizing a mixed feedstock which facilitates the maintenance of a year-round feedstock supply. This study investigated the impact of mixing of three industrially relevant cellulosic feedstocks—wheat straw, willow and Miscanthus using two major performance indicators—sugar yield and fermentation inhibitor production. A microwave hydrothermal pre-treatment regime of 200 °C for 5 min was applied to each feedstock individually and to 1:1 (w/w) mixes and the predicted sugar yield in the mixes was compared to the observed values. All the mixes resulted in improved sugar yields with willow + Miscanthus (15.4%, p = 0.015) and wheat + willow (13.6%, p = 0.010) showing a statistically significant improvement. Saccharification kinetics, inhibitor production, impact on yeast metabolic activity and growth were compared and no adverse impacts of mixing were observed. The use of mixed feedstocks in a hot water based commercial production of biofuels is unlikely to have any adverse effects on productivity and may indeed prove beneficial.

摘要

生物精炼厂的木质纤维素原料可能是季节性的，纤维素生物精炼厂的原料供应仍然是一个挑战。克服这一问题的一种方法是利用混合原料，这有助于维持全年的原料供应。本研究使用糖产量和发酵抑制剂产量这两个主要性能指标调查了三种工业相关纤维素原料（小麦秸秆、柳树和芒草）混合的影响。将 200 °C 的微波水热预处理方案 5 分钟分别应用于每种原料和 1:1 (w/w) 混合物，并将混合物中预测的糖产量与观察值进行比较。所有的混合物都提高了柳树 +芒草的糖产量（15.4%，p  = 0.015) 和小麦 + 柳树 (13.6%, p  = 0.010) 显示出统计学上的显着改善。比较了糖化动力学、抑制剂的产生、对酵母代谢活性和生长的影响，没有观察到混合的不利影响。在基于热水的生物燃料商业生产中使用混合原料不太可能对生产力产生任何不利影响，并且可能确实是有益的。