Development of a low severity pretreatment process for the production of sugarcane straw oligosaccharides

Abstract

Sugarcane straw, consisting of green tops and dry leaves, can be maintained on fields to improve soil quality or harvested for different purpose such as bioelectricity and second-generation ethanol production (E2G). The optimum option between these two uses is still uncertain and requires further study. Considering sugarcane straw application in fractionation processes for sugars production, it is important to investigate the physicochemical properties and composition of green tops and dry leaves in order to develop models to use in rational pretreatment projects. In addition, operational conditions can be tailor-made in order to obtain products with specific chemical and structural properties, such as the production of oligosaccharides. It is known that the pre-treatment stage represents approximately 40% from the total cost of investing in an E2G plant; therefore, modifications in process conditions and characteristics of the desired products can bring technological advantages and economic benefits to the technology. In this sense, the aim of this project is to study and develop a low severity pretreatment route for sugarcane straw. In addition, operational conditions will be optimized in order to maximize the xylooligosaccharides production and recovery, and at the same time, generating a pretreated material suitable to obtain celluloligosaccharides by enzymatic routes. The postdoc proposal is part of a FAPESP project, RCUK partnership "An integrated approach to explore a novel paradigm for biofuel production from lignocellulosic feedstocks (FAPESP 15/50612-8)". The oligosaccharides produced during the project, either xylo and celluloligosaccharides, with specific degrees of polymerization, will be used in fermentation processes. Genetically modified microorganisms for this stage will also be developed during the main project, providing competitive advantages in bioprocess applications due to its specificity of substrate consumption (AU)