Hydrolysis biorefining technologies aim to produce biofuels and/or platform chemicals from the polysaccharides
of lignocellulosic biomass by breaking them apart into their constituent monosaccharide (single sugar) units.
This can be done in various ways, including using enzymes and chemicals. Furthermore, these technologies often involve a pre-treatment stage to
make the lignocellulosic matrix more amenable to subsequent hydrolysis and in many cases these pre-treatments can partially hydrolyse some of the polysaccharides.
Particularly when elevated temperatures and/or chemicals are employed in either pre-treatment or hydrolysis it can be possible for the production of
the monosaccharide to not be the end-point of the process. Some sugars may be further degraded to a variety of potential products. This is important
since these products can often be inhibitory to fermentation or can otherwise complicate subsequent downstream processing methods.
However, some of these sugar degradation products can be valuable chemicals in their own right and technologies may target their production.
The types and concentrations of these sugar degradation products will be dependent on the feedstock, pre-treatment, and hydrolysis methods used and can
vary substantially with these parameters.
Celignis personnel have significant experience in the analysis of sugar degradation products. The company was formed based on the outputs of a
European research project called DIBANET that targeted the production of the degradation products
levulinic acid, furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, and
formic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. We have developed analytical methods to determine the concentrations of the main
degradation products of interest. These can be categorised according to two main classes, organic acids and furans.
Analysis of Organic Acids
We focus on the analysis of carboxylic acids that can be derived from the degradation of biomass-derived sugars. A carboxylic acid is an organic compound
where a carbon atom is bonded to a hydroxyl group by a single bond and to an oxygen by a double bond. Listed below are the organic acids that we currently
determine in biomass hydrolysates and liquids from biomass pre-treatment processes.
Levulinic Acid
Levulinic acid (or 4-oxopentanoic acid), is a 5-carbon carboxylic acid derived from the acid-catalysed degradation
of glucose and other hexoses. It can be inhibitory to fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis but can also be a valuable platform
chemical from which a
wide variety of chemicals, that can substitute for petroleum-derived products, can be derived. It is a versatile platform chemical due to its particular
chemistry - it has two highly reactive functional groups (carboxyl and ketone) that allow a great number of synthetic transformations. The United States
Department of Energy recognised levulinic acid as one of the top 12 value added chemicals to be derived from biomass.
Formic acid (methanoic acid) has the formula HCOOH and is the simplest carboxylic acid. It is a co-product in the
production of levulinic acid from hexoses and can also be formed from the degradation of other sugars and sugar-degradation products.
Formic acid is used extensively as a decalcifier, as an acidulating agent in textile dying and finishing, and in
leather tanning. It is also used
in the preparation of organic esters and in the manufacture of drugs, dyes, insecticides, and
refrigerants. In industrial production, formic acid is usually produced as a by-product of acetic acid production by
liquid phase oxidation of hydrocarbons.
Acetic Acid
Acetic acid (ethanoic acid) has the
formula CH3COOH and is an important industrial chemical and food additive.
Analysis of Furans
A furan is a heterocyclic organic compound with a five membered ring containing four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. The furans that we analyse-for
contain groups attached to this ring and are possible products from the degradation of biomass-derived sugars.
Furfural
Furfural has an aldehyde group attached to the furanic ring and has the formula OC4H3CHO. It is an important
industrial solvent and also a precursor to a number of other important furanic compounds, including furfuryl alcohol. It is a degradation
product from pentose sugars, such as xylose and arabinose.
As with some other furans and many organic acids, furfural can be inhibitory to some fermentative organisms and hydrolysis enzymes.
Hydroxymethylfurfural
Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), also known as 5-furfural, contains an aldehyde and an alcohol functional group
attached to the furan ring. It can be produced
through the acid-catalysed dehydration and subsequent cyclisation of hexoses such as glucose
and mannose. HMF is also an intermediate in the production of levulinic acid
from hexoses. The functional side groups found in HMF offer a wide range of applications for which HMF can be used and transformed and it has the
potential to be a very useful platform chemical, providing it can be produced economically. HMF can also
be inhibitory to some fermentative organisms and hydrolysis enzymes.
Analysis of Organic Acids and Furans at Celignis
We can determine a number of organic acids and furans, relevant to the degradation of biomass-derived sugars, using analysis package
P22 - Organic Acids and Furans. This package is relevant to analysing the liquid outputs
from biomass pre-treatment and hydrolysis technologies. It can be used in conjunction with analysis package
P13 - Sugars and Oligossacharides in Solution to get a detailed understanding of the composition of process liquids.
Analysis package P22 - Organic Acids and Furans can also be used to determine the amounts of organic acids and furans
in other substances, for example the hydroxymethylfurfural content of honey. The chemicals determined by analysis package
P22 are detailed below:
€1.6m Funding Success for Celignis in 2024 CBE-JU Calls
We have secured funding for involvement in 4 collaborative research projects
We are delighted to announce that Celignis has been successful in 4 project proposals submitted for funding to the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) programme.
These projects will provide funding of 1.6m EUR to Celignis over the next few years and build upon the 3 projects (worth 1.5m EUR) we secured last year and the 4 previous CBE/BBI projects that Celignis participated in.
Details on the projects are provided below:
WoodVALOR - This RIA project concerns the valorisation of contaminated/post-consumer wood waste (WW) via: (i) thermal conversion to biochar; and (ii) fractionation followed by conversions to paints & coatings ingredients. Celignis is involved in the chemo-enzymatic fractionation of decontaminated wood (DW) to sequentially extract/purify lignin and hemicellulose, and in developing hemicellulose-based emulsifiers/stabilizers and binder monomers for industrial formulations. Additionally, Celignis is involved in metals/mineral recovery from decontamination wastewater using
New Publication from a Celignis Bioprocess Development Project
The article, available in "Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery" is entitled "Process development for efficient pectin extraction from tobacco residues and its characterisation"
We are please to announce the publication of a peer-reviewed scientific article based on some of the research outputs of a Bioprocess Development Service (BDS) project undertaken by Celignis.
The article, entitled "Process development for efficient pectin extraction from tobacco residues and its characterisation" details the results of experiments targeting the optimised extraction of pectin from the laminae of a number of different varieties of tobacco plants. These tobacco-derived pectins were found to have a medium molecular weight and low methoxy content and our findings indicated that this feedstock could be suitable for the production of pectin with dietary applications.
Meeting takes place at the coordinator's (ITA) headquarters in Zaragoza, SPAIN
Celignis personnel are today attending the kick-off meeting of the CBE-JU project MANUREFINERY at the facilities of the project's coordinator (ITA) in Zaragoza, Spain.
MANUREFINERY concerns the development of a small, decentralised, modular biorefinery concept for farms that converts manure and ammonia emissions into seven marketable bio-ingredients (animal-feed proteins, caproic acid, and fertiliser salts/ashes). The solution integrates fixed/mobile units across three valorisation lines (gas, liquid, solid) and a digital twin for optimisation and scale-up, targeting TRL6-7 validation on four EU demo farms.
Celignis has a number of key roles in the project, including:
- Comprehensive analysis of the feedstocks and products of the process.
Meeting takes place at the coordinator's (AIMPLAS) headquarters in Valencia, Spain
PROMOFER, is an Innovation Action project funded by the CBE-JU, under topic HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-03 (Improve Fermentation Processes (Including Downstream Purification) To Final Bio-Based Products).
This project started in June 2024 with Celignis, an SME partner and full industry BIC member, playing a pivotal role in the project. Our core activities include undertaking the pre-treatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass at scaled-up (TRL7, 1 m3) volumes. The resulting sugars are then provided to other partners for downstream fermentations.
Today Celignis's CIO Lalitha is attending the kick-off meeting of the project, at coordinator AIMPLAS's headquarters in Valencia, Spain.
We're attending the kick-off meeting for BIONEER in Trondheim, Norway (SINTEF)
Lalitha is attending the kick-off meeting of our CBE-JU project BIONEER, located at the coordinator's (SINTEF) premises in Trondheim, Norway.
BIONEER has the title "Scaled-up Production of Next-Generation Carbohydrate-Derived Building Blocks to Enhance the Competitiveness of a Sustainable European Chemicals Industry". It is a 4-year Innovation Action project with 7.5m EUR of funding provided by the CBE-JU.
Celignis plays a key role in BIONEER, being responsible for the scaled-up (TRL7) production of platform chemicals.
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