A two-step method for activating a cellulosic feedstock is described. The feedstock is subjected to a first high temperature activation step at a temperature greater than 190° C. and a second activation step at a lower temperature under alkali conditions. Also described are methods and compositions for the enzymatic hydrolysis of activated cellulose using one or more cellulase enzymes, a surfactant and polyaspartic acid. Also described are products of the methods.

The present invention relates generally to the field of industrial biotechnology and particularly to an improved hydrolysis method for increasing sugar production from a high solids concentration of lignocellulosic biomass, especially one derived from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) by enzymatic hydrolysis of a lignocellulosic biomass to obtain a slurry, wherein the hydrolysis comprises aliquot additions of enzyme and lignocellulosic biomass; and removal of sugars from the slurry and washing of the residual lignocellulosic biomass.

A homogeneous catalyst is provided comprising one or more metals; and at least two metal coordinating ligands wherein the homogeneous catalyst is a multi-ligand metal complex adapted for use with an oxidant in an oxidation reaction to catalytically pretreat lignocellulosic biomass. In one embodiment, the homogenous catalyst is copper (II) 2, 2′ bipyridine ethylenediamine (Cu(bpy)en). Related methods are also disclosed.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for treating plant based raw material with an enzymatic hydrolysis, in which the plant based raw material (1) is treated to form lignocellulosic material (3a,3b) and the lignocellulosic material (3a,3b) or its fraction (10) is conducted into the enzymatic hydrolysis (4), wherein the method comprises at least one treatment stage (2a,2b,2c) in which the plant based raw material (1) is treated so that the lignocellulosic material (3a,3b) contains over 80% fine solid particles which are fiber-like or indefinable particles smaller than 0.2 mm, defined by an optical measurement device, the lignocellulosic material (3a,3b) or at least one fraction (10) of the lignocellulosic material is supplied into the enzymatic hydrolysis (4) for forming a lignin based material (5), and at least one solid-liquid separation stage (6) after the enzymatic hydrolysis (4) in which a lignin fraction (7) and a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction (8) are separated. Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, the lignin fraction, the lignin based material, the liquid fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

Unique carbon dioxide or lignocellulosic substrate is prepared and used to produce biosurfactants, based on different types of microorganism fermenting strains, using carbon dioxide or lignocellulose-based raw materials as the primary feedstock, subsequently utilizing a fermentation process to synthesize different structures of biosurfactants. This is a two-phase reaction where phase-one creates the feedstock for the phase-two reactions. The fermentation broth resulting from the phase-two reaction is the crude biosurfactant; it uses glycolipid or lipopeptide biosurfactant as the main component. The broth is then refined by filtration, then concentrated, and further purified to obtain the pure biosurfactant material. The biosurfactant of the present disclosure can be applied to industries such as petroleum, food or agriculture, daily chemicals, industrial chemicals, environmental protection, and medicine.

Disclosed herein is an isolated strain of Roseburia hominis HGM001, which is deposited at Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen and Zellkulturen GmbH under an accession number DSM 34119. A method for producing butyric acid using the isolated strain of Roseburia hominis HGM001, a fermented culture produced by the method, and a method for alleviating an inflammatory disorder using the fermented culture are also disclosed.

Lignocellulosic biomass can be fractionated for the purpose of increasing cellulose purity in the pulp, increasing native lignin content of the isolated lignin, and improving cellulose hydrolysis, by performing the steps of: (a) extracting the biomass with an extracting liquid comprising at least 20 wt % of a first organic solvent at a temperature below 100° C.; (b) treating the extracted biomass with a treatment liquid comprising a second organic solvent selected from lower alcohols, ethers and ketones, optionally water and optionally an acid, at a temperature between 120° C. and 280° C., and, optionally: (c) subjecting a cellulose-enriched product stream resulting from step (b) to enzymatic hydrolysis. The first and second organic solvent may be different or the same; in particular they comprise ethanol or acetone.

The present disclosure provides methods for generating sugars from a cellulosic biomass. The methods combine treatment of the biomass using a high-shear milling device and saccharification of the biomass to partially hydrolyze the biomass. The biomass can be saccharified either after or simultaneously with the high-shear milling treatement. The partially hydrolyzed biomass is then separated into a solids stream with saccharification enzymes, and a liquid stream with sugars. The solids stream and associated enzymes are further incubated under saccharification conditions to produce additional sugars, or are recycled and added to fresh biomass, which is saccharified under high-shear milling conditions. The methods result in improved conversion of cellulosic biomass to glucose.

The invention relates to a method for treating biomass (2). Biomass (2) is fed to a pressurized prehydrolysis reactor unit (8) by means of a feeding system (5, 7), wherein by means of the feeding system (5, 7) the biomass (2) is compressed. A filtrate is squeezed out of the biomass (2) by means of the feeding system (5, 7), in particular by a first plug screw (5) or a second plug screw (7) of the feeding system (5, 7). The biomass (2) is then thermally treated in the pressurized prehydrolysis reactor unit (8), discharged from the pressurized prehydrolysis reactor unit (8) afterwards, diluted with the filtrate before or after the discharge, and treated with an enzyme subsequently.

An entirely water-based, energy self-sufficient, integrated in-line waste management system is provided for comprehensive conversion of all organic fractions of municipal and wider community waste to fuels suitable for use in transportation, with all solid residues converted to high nutrition compost. The system is based on a combination of pre-treatment, involving alkaline hydrolysis and saponification; three-way separation of the pre-treated waste into different streams that are each directed to suitable further processing including fuel production; which includes biodiesel generation in a continuous-flow catalytic esterification unit, and anaerobic digestion to produce methane or other small molecule biofuel. Remaining solids are converted to compost in a quasi-continuous process.