Linking the process steps in the bioconversion of lignocellulosics to ethanol

在加拿大，木质纤维素原料，如木材和农业残留物，是一种可再生和现成的资源，可以用来减少我们对化石燃料的依赖。生物转化是可以整合到加拿大生物精炼厂的技术之一，该精炼厂能够将木质纤维素转化为生物产品，如燃料和化学品。然而，为了在工业规模上实现木质纤维素的生物转化，需要进一步的工作将该过程的预处理、酶解和发酵步骤联系起来。拟议研究的最终目标是将Novozymes1在构建酶制剂方面的专业知识与Saddler集团在生物质预处理方面的丰富经验结合起来，开发生物质预处理和酶混合物的组合，以促进有效的水解和发酵，从而从木质纤维素原料中获得最大的乙醇产量。最初的工作将集中在玉米秸秆上，因为这种原料已被证明相对容易加工，因此代表了一个合乎逻辑的进展，即更顽固的原料，如加拿大普遍存在的软木残渣。通过评估特定预处理对化学和物理特性的影响以及所产生的基质的水解性所获得的原则将随后应用于硬木，如杂交杨木和软木，如黑松。

In Canada, lignocellulosic feedstocks such as wood and agricultural residues are a renewable and readily available resource that can be utilized to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Bioconversion is one of the technologies that can be integrated into a Canadian bio-refinery capable of transforming lignocellulosics into bioproducts such as fuel and chemicals. However, in order to implement the bioconversion of lignocellulosics at an industrial scale, further work is necessary to link the pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation steps of the process. The ultimate goal of the proposed research is to combine Novozymes1 expertise in constructing enzyme formulations with the extensive experience in biomass pretreatment of the Saddler group to develop combinations of biomass pretreatments and enzyme mixtures that facilitate efficient hydrolysis and fermentation to obtain maximum ethanol yields from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The initial work will focus on corn stover, since this feedstock has been shown to be relatively easy to process, and thus represents a logical progression to more recalcitrant feedstocks such as softwood residues prevalent in Canada. The principles gained from evaluating the effects of specific pretreatments on the chemical and physical characteristics and hydrolyzability of resulting substrates will be subsequently applied to hardwoods such as hybrid poplar and softwoods such as lodgepole pine.