A process is provided for producing a biomass-derived rheology modifier, comprising: providing a pretreated feedstock comprising cellulose-rich solids; refining the cellulose-rich solids in a first high-intensity refining unit, generating refined cellulose solids; gelling the refined cellulose solids in a second high-intensity refining unit, thereby generating gelled cellulose solids; and homogenizing the gelled cellulose solids in a high-shear homogenizer, thereby generating a biomass-derived rheology modifier. The pretreated feedstock may include kraft pulp, sulfite pulp, AVAP® pulp, soda pulp, mechanical pulp, thermomechanical pulp, and/or chemimechanical pulp, derived from wood or lignocellulosic biomass. The pretreated feedstock may be GP3+® pulp, obtained from steam or hot-water extraction of lignocellulosic biomass. These rheology modifiers may be utilized in a wide variety of applications, including water-based or oil-based hydraulic fracturing fluid formulations, as gelling agents. These rheology modifiers are biodegradable, and their production does not directly involve chemicals other than biomass and water.

The present invention concerns a compound of formula (I): wherein:—n is an integer comprised between 1 and 7;—X.sub.1 is in particular a radical of formula —CH.sub.2—S—(CH.sub.2).sub.k—S—;—A.sub.1 is in particular a linear or branched alkylene radical comprising from 2 to 30 carbon atoms, and—X.sub.2 is in particular an alkoxy group of formula OR.sub.a, wherein R.sub.a is a linear or branched alkyl group comprising from 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

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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.

Methods of preparing a hemicellulose-product and a holocellulose-product from a carbohydrate-rich material, including spend coffee grounds, are described. Hemicellulose-products and holocellulose-products produced according to these methods are also described.

Provided herein are purified hemicellulose compositions, sweetener compositions including purified hemicellulose compositions, as well as methods for making the same. Also provided are uses of the compositions.

Provided are methods for cleaving polysaccharides, comprising reacting polysaccharides with a Fenton's reagent, and cleaving the treated polysaccharides with a nitrogen-based cleavage reagent, which preferably is also a peroxide-quenching agent. Synthetic oligosaccharide compositions produced by such polysaccharide cleaving methods are further disclosed. Such oligosaccharide compositions are shown to provide utility in various aspects including modulating microbial growth and/or microbial or host metabolism.

The present disclosure relates to a novel hydrogel, and to method of making and using the novel hydrogel. The novel hydrogel is a reaction product of a water soluble laccase cross-linked arabinoxylan and an acid, and has a pH value of 1.5-2.5.

An oleophilic and hydrophobic nanocellulose material is disclosed herein, for nanocellulose sponges and other applications. The oleophilic and hydrophobic nanocellulose material comprises lignin-coated cellulose nanofibrils and/or lignin-coated cellulose nanocrystals. In various embodiments, the nanocellulose material is in the form of a 2D coating or layer, or a 3D object (e.g., foam or aerogel). The nanocellulose material may be disposed onto a scaffold. A process is provided for producing an oleophilic and hydrophobic nanocellulose object, comprising fractionating a biomass feedstock with an acid, a solvent for lignin, and water, to generate cellulose-rich solids and a lignin-containing liquor; mechanically treating the cellulose-rich solids to form cellulose fibrils and/or cellulose crystals; generating a nanocellulose object from the intermediate nanocellulose material; exposing the nanocellulose object to the lignin-containing liquor to allow lignin to deposit onto a surface of the nanocellulose object; and recovering the oleophilic and hydrophobic nanocellulose object.

Disclosed herein is a method for preparing an antibacterial bio-filler for plastics and an antibacterial bio-filler for plastics, prepared thereby. More specifically a method for preparing an oleophilic antibacterial bio-filler for plastics from hydrophilic lignocellulosic biomass and an antibacterial bio-filler for plastics prepared thereby are provided.

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.