A method for treating biomass including lignocellulosic polymers. The biomass is treated in a mixture of water with at least one oxidizing agent and steam at a temperature in a range of from about 130° C. to about 220° C. for a period from about 5 seconds to about 10 hours. The pH of the mixture is periodically measured for substantially an entire duration of the treating step. As necessary, based on the measured pH of the mixture, adjusting the pH of the mixture into a range of from about pH 4.5 to about pH 7.5 by adding a base to the mixture.

The present invention relates to xylanase variants of a parent xylanase having increased thermostability when compared to the parent xylanase. The present invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding the variants, nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides, and method of producing the variants of the present invention.

The present invention relates to xylanase variants of a parent xylanase having increased thermostability when compared to the parent xylanase. The present invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding the variants, nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides, and method of producing the variants of the present invention.

The present disclosure generally relates to a method for treatment of a lignocellulosic biomass. The method comprises the steps of pretreating the lignocellulosic biomass material in a pretreatment arrangement to form a pretreated biomass slurry; optionally hydrolysing the pretreated biomass slurry in a hydrolysis unit; retrieving gaseous SO2 from the pretreatment arrangement to provide an SO2 gas stream; treating the SO2 gas stream with an alkaline solution to provide a sulfite/bisulfite solution; supplying at least a part of the sulfite/bisulfite solution to at least one of: a) the lignocellulosic biomass material prior to pretreating the lignocellulosic biomass material in the pretreatment arrangement; b) the lignocellulosic biomass material n the pretreatment arrangement; c) the pretreated biomass slurry discharged from the reactor vessel; d) the hydrolysate or fermentable sugars of the hydrolysate.

The present invention provides for a method to produce a sugar compound from a biomass, the method comprising: (a) providing a first mixture comprising a solubilized biomass and an alkanolamine; (b) recovering at least part of the alkanolamine from the first mixture in order to separate the at least part of the alkanolamine from the first mixture; (c) optionally introducing an enzyme and/or a microbe to the first mixture such that the enzyme and/or microbe produce a sugar from the solubilized biomass; and, (d) optionally the sugar is separated from the first mixture.

The present invention provides for a method to produce a sugar compound from a biomass, the method comprising: (a) providing a first mixture comprising a solubilized biomass and an alkanolamine; (b) recovering at least part of the alkanolamine from the first mixture in order to separate the at least part of the alkanolamine from the first mixture; (c) optionally introducing an enzyme and/or a microbe to the first mixture such that the enzyme and/or microbe produce a sugar from the solubilized biomass; and, (d) optionally the sugar is separated from the first mixture.

The present invention relates to a process for forming a functionalised dietary fibre comprising admixing an enzyme and an aqueous suspension of dietary fibre, wherein said dietary fibre is at a D.sub.50 particle size distribution of less than 30 microns after degradation by the enzyme and comprises less than 25 wt. % soluble fibres and at least 40% wt. % cellulose; denaturing said enzyme to form a functionalised, amphiphilic dietary fibre with adsorbed enzyme. The present invention further relates to a Pickering particle comprising a functionalised dietary fibre and denatured enzyme and the use of the functionalised dietary fibre and denatured enzyme according to present invention or the Pickering particle according to the present invention to stabilize an emulsion.

The present invention relates to a process for forming a functionalised dietary fibre comprising admixing an enzyme and an aqueous suspension of dietary fibre, wherein said dietary fibre is at a D.sub.50 particle size distribution of less than 30 microns after degradation by the enzyme and comprises less than 25 wt. % soluble fibres and at least 40% wt. % cellulose; denaturing said enzyme to form a functionalised, amphiphilic dietary fibre with adsorbed enzyme. The present invention further relates to a Pickering particle comprising a functionalised dietary fibre and denatured enzyme and the use of the functionalised dietary fibre and denatured enzyme according to present invention or the Pickering particle according to the present invention to stabilize an emulsion.

This disclosure describes processes for using a single cellulosic feedstock or a combination of two or more different cellulosic feedstocks with a starch component to produce a fermented product. The process includes separating the components of the cellulosic feedstocks with fractionation, pretreating a component with wet fractionation with chemicals, hydrolysis and fermenta-tion of the pretreated feedstock(s) to produce cellulosic biofuel. The process may include combining the cellulosic feedstock(s) with other components to a cook and/or a fermentation process, distilling and dehydrating the combined components to produce the biofuel. The process may also include producing a whole stillage stream from the feedstock(s) and mechanically processing the whole stillage stream to produce a high-value protein animal feed.

This disclosure describes processes for using a single cellulosic feedstock or a combination of two or more different cellulosic feedstocks with a starch component to produce a fermented product. The process includes separating the components of the cellulosic feedstocks with fractionation, pretreating a component with wet fractionation with chemicals, hydrolysis and fermenta-tion of the pretreated feedstock(s) to produce cellulosic biofuel. The process may include combining the cellulosic feedstock(s) with other components to a cook and/or a fermentation process, distilling and dehydrating the combined components to produce the biofuel. The process may also include producing a whole stillage stream from the feedstock(s) and mechanically processing the whole stillage stream to produce a high-value protein animal feed.