Provided herein are methods of producing carbon-based compounds from the fermentation of cellulosic feedstocks. In certain embodiments, the cellulosic feedstock and/or source of the cellulosic feedstock is grass, guar gum, leaves, cattails, and/or phragmites.

The present invention relates to processes for producing fermentation products from starch-containing material, wherein an alpha-amylase and optionally a thermostable protease, pullulanase and/or glucoamylase are present and/or added during liquefaction, wherein a cellulolytic composition is present and/or added during fermentation or simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. The invention also relates to a composition suitable for use in a process of the invention.

Methods combine the operations of a bioethanol production unit and a biogas unit and comprise: (a) mashing corn meal from a dry milling step with at least 0.1 t of dry matter in the form of whole stillage and at least 0.1 m.sup.3 of outflow from the biogas unit per tonne of corn meal; (b) feeding the mash from (a) to a cooking stage with mash temperatures below the gelatinization temperature of the starch in the corn meal, followed by an ethanol-forming fermentation step and then feeding the fermented mash to a distillation step; and (c) feeding the whole stillage from (b) to the mashing step in (a) and to the biogas unit.

Disclosed herein are methods for preparing sugar compositions. The methods include: i) forming a mixture including polysaccharide biomass and an ionic liquid solution, wherein the ionic liquid solution contains water and an ionic liquid, and the ionic liquid contains a) a cation and b) a sugar acid anion or a ketoacid anion; ii) maintaining the mixture under conditions sufficient to dissolve at least a portion of the polysaccharide present in the polysaccharide biomass; iii) adding at least one glycoside hydrolase to the mixture; and iv) maintaining the mixture containing the glycoside hydrolase under conditions sufficient to hydrolyze at least a portion of the dissolved polysaccharide, thereby forming the sugar compositions. The sugar compositions contain at least one monosaccharide or oligosaccharide. New sugar-based ionic liquids are also described.

The present disclosure includes methods and systems for removing one or more fermentation inhibitors (e.g., furfural) from a hydrolysate composition (e.g., a whole broth hydrolysate) by gas stripping the one or more fermentation inhibitors from the hydrolysate composition.

Process for the production of sugars from biomass derived from guayule plants comprising: subjecting said biomass to a biological pretreatment in the presence of at least one ligninolytic fungus obtaining a liquid phase comprising sugars and a first solid residue: subjecting said first solid residue to hydrolysis in the presence of at least one diluted inorganic acid obtaining a first hydrolysate comprising sugars and a second solid residue; subjecting said second solid residue to enzymatic hydrolysis obtaining a second hydrolysate comprising sugars and a third solid residue. The sugars thus obtained can be advantageously used as sources of carbon in fermentation processes for producing alcohols (e.g., ethanol, butanol), lipids, diols (e.g., 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol), or in chemical synthesis processes for producing other intermediates or chemical products (e.g., furfural). Said alcohols and lipids can be advantageously used in turn in the production of biofuels (e.g., biodiesel or “green diesel”), which can be used as such, or mixed with other fuels for transportation, while said diols can be used in the production of products such as bio-butadiene which can in turn be used for manufacturing rubbers (e.g., polybutadiene or copolymers thereof). Said uses are particularly important in the case of a biorefinery.

A system for treatment of a biomass material, said system comprising: a first vessel (3) in which said biomass material is treated under a first pressure; a second vessel (5) in which said biomass material is received and held at a second pressure which is lower than the first pressure; a transporting pipe (7) connecting an outlet (9) of the first vessel (3) with an inlet (11) of the second vessel (5) for transporting the biomass material from the first vessel to the second vessel; and a valve (15; 15′; 15) arranged in said transporting pipe (7), said valve being configured for controlling the flow of biomass material and fluid in the transporting pipe (7), wherein said transporting pipe (7) is asymmetrically connected to an outlet (33′; 33) of said valve (15; 15′; 15) such that a generated jet stream of biomass material delivered out from the outlet (33′; 33) of the valve (15; 15′; 15) is received closer to a transporting pipe longitudinal central axis (A1) than if the outlet (33′; 33) of the valve (15; 15′; 15) and the transporting pipe (7) would have been connected symmetrically.

A biomass pretreatment method is provided to improve the bio-digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. This pretreatment method densifies biomass with alkaline or acidic chemical(s) to obtain densified biomass containing chemicals. Pretreatment effects are realized during densification. The chemicals in densified biomass further react with biomass during biomass storage and transportation to improve the pretreatment effects. Further treatment (e.g. stream) can also be applied to the densified biomass to achieve better effects. As chemicals are mixed well with biomass during densification and the biomass density is greatly increased, further treatment is of high efficiency and high solid loading. This pretreatment method is simple and the densified biomass with chemicals is resistant to microbial contamination/degradation and thus facilitates storage and transportation.

Processes are described herein for realizing an enhanced yield of ethanol and co-products from the by-products (e.g., stillage) of existing ethanol production processes, particularly processes for producing ethanol from biomass containing lignocellulosic material. Also described herein are product outputs of these processes having new and useful properties and systems implementing the processes.

Processes for converting lignocellulose to feedstock and downstream products are disclosed. The processes may include acid treatment of lignocellulose to produce a fermentation feedstock. In various instances, the processes include recovery or recycling of acid, such as recovery of hydrochloric acid from concentrated and/or dilute streams. Downstream products may include acrylic acid-based products such as diapers, paper and paper-based products, ethanol, biofuels such as biodiesel and fuel additives, and detergents.