Linking the process steps in the bioconversion of lignocellulosics to ethanol

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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.