A method is described to produce cellulose sheets and suspensions by fermenting biomass obtained from household and/or industrial waste. The inoculum in the fermentation includes cellulose producing bacteria and optionally yeast cells. The method has a high cellulose productivity. The resulting sheets or suspensions can be used to produce various further materials, such as disposable vessels, sachets, artificial leather. The sheet and suspensions can be used as additives in material production, such as paper making production. The method provides an alternative to make disposable items that are currently made of plastic, and textiles.

The patent application relates to isolated polypeptides that specifically cleave non-glycosidic ether bonds between lignins or derivatives thereof and saccharides, and to cDNAs encoding the polypeptides. The patent application also relates to nucleic acid constructs, expression vectors and host cells comprising the cDNAs, as well as methods of producing and using the isolated polypeptides for treating pulp and biomass to increase soluble saccharide yield and enrich lignin fractions.

A method for preparing a binder composition containing water, plant fibers and mineral fillers, wherein the method comprises: preparing a suspension of plant fibers and mineral fillers in water, the weight ratio between the plant fibers and the mineral fillers being comprised between 99/1 and 2/98, refining this suspension, and obtaining a binder composition wherein the refined fibers have a mean size of between 10 and 700 μm, and wherein the refined fibers, at least partially, embed the refined mineral fillers,
wherein refining is carried out in the absence of any grinding medium made of ceramic or metal.

A method for preparing unbleached biomechanical pulp from straw. Straw is used as a raw material, which is firstly pre-treated with hot water and hot steam, added with a small amount of alkali, and then softened by saturation with hot water, enzymatically treated by adding alkaline biological enzymes, refined, and washed. This method has the advantage that the whole production process does not need alkali recovery, thereby avoiding environmental pollution from the source. This technology conforms to the national industrial policy of resource conservation, economic recycling, energy saving and emission reduction. The present invention overcomes the problems of difficulty in recovering the alkali wastewater accompanying straw pulp and serious pollution in the prior art. This is of great significance for the industrial production of straw pulp and the development of the paper industry.

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.

A method for co-producing molded food-container pulp and fulvic acid from cotton stalk, which belongs to the field of comprehensive utilization of crop straw resources. The method adopts digesting, defibering and bio-treating measures to remove pectin and hemicellulose and other anionic waste generating sources in cotton straw raw materials to obtain a pulp with low beating degree; and retains part of lignin to help form oil-proof and waterproof film of a molded food-container and improves the stiffness and water filtration of the molded food-container and increases a yield of fiber pulp; adopts ammonium sulfite method to pulping to meet fiber requirements while obtaining fulvic acid.

The present invention relates to the fields of fibers and uses thereof such as for producing fiber webs, such as paper, board or tissue. Specifically, the invention relates to a method of monitoring and controlling cellulolytic activity in an aqueous cellulose fiber suspension or process water for a production method of a fibrous web containing cellulose fibers. Also, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a fibrous web, such as a paper, board, tissue or the like, and use of a biocide for controlling cellulolytic activity in an aqueous cellulose fiber suspension or in process water e.g. for a production method of a fibrous web containing cellulose fibers. Still, the present invention relates to a fibrous web, such as a paper, board, tissue or the like, an aqueous cellulose fiber suspension or process water for a production method of a fibrous web containing cellulose fibers, and a system for controlling cellulolytic activity in an aqueous fiber suspension or in process water.

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.

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 subject invention provides materials and methods for producing, isolating, extracting and purifying single-molecule products. The subject invention provides materials and methods for extracting microbial metabolites at a high level of purity, for example, a purity of at least 80% by weight, and preferably at least 95% by weight or more. Specifically, the subject invention provides materials and methods for isolating or extracting biosurfactants and polyketides at a high level of purity. Preferably, the biosurfactant is a sophorolipid (SLP).