Systems and methods for cooling and processing materials are disclosed.

Described are a method for processing cellulose-containing biomass and the use of methanesulfonic acid for processing cellulose-containing biomass, especially for the pretreatment of cellulose-containing biomass prior to saccharification.

A process for preparing lactic acid and/or a lactate salt via the fermentation of carbohydrates obtained from lignocellulosic material. In particular the process includes: a) treating a lignocellulosic material with an alkaline agent including a caustic magnesium salt in the presence of water to provide a treated aqueous lignocellulosic material; b) saccharifying the treated aqueous lignocellulosic material in the presence of a hydrolytic enzyme to provide a saccharified aqueous lignocellulosic material including fermentable carbohydrates and a solid lignocellulosic fraction; c) fermenting the fermentable carbohydrates in the saccharified aqueous lignocellulosic material by way of lactic acid producing microorganism in the presence of an alkaline agent including a caustic magnesium salt to provide an aqueous fermentation broth including a magnesium lactate; and d) isolating lactic acid and/or lactate salt from the fermentation broth; wherein the saccharification step b) and the fermentation step c) are performed as two separate steps.

The present invention relates to cellobiohydrolase variants. The present invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding the variants; nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides; and methods of using the variants.

The present invention relates to regulation of the p H of a liquefaction process. Presented is a method for treatment of a biomass feedstock wherein the biomass feedstock is subjected to liquefaction, at a p H of at most 4, by treatment with hot compressed liquid water (HCW) at subcritical and/or supercritical conditions to improve the conversion efficiency. The present invention is also directed to quenching of a liquefaction process according to above, preventing, minimizing or eliminating clogging and/or fouling of sticky biomass components in process equipment during processing as according to above, and to the use of additives in a biomass liquefaction process.

The invention is directed to compositions and processes concerning efficient downstream processing of products derived from organic acids pretreatment of plant materials.

Methods of fractionating lignocellulosic biomass using maleic acids are provided. Also provided are methods of forming lignin particles, furans, sugars, and/or lignocellulosic micro- and nanofibrils from the liquid and solid fractions produced by fractionation process. The fractionation can be carried out at low temperatures with short reaction times to carboxylate and dissolve lignin with a low degree of condensation.

The present invention provides process for treating crop kernels, comprising the steps of a) soaking kernels in water to produce soaked kernels; b) grinding the soaked kernels; c) treating the soaked kernels in the presence of an effective amount of a beta-xylosidase, wherein step c) is performed before, during or after step b).

A method of producing a sugar liquid includes: (A) reacting mannanase with a liquid component obtained by hydrolysis treatment of woody biomass to obtain a saccharified liquid; and (B) filtering the saccharified liquid in Step (A) through a microfiltration membrane and/or ultrafiltration membrane to collect a sugar liquid from a permeate side.

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a sugar and/or fermentation product from lignocellulosic material.