Raquel Martín-Sampedro

Kraft pulp biobleaching using an extracellular enzymatic fluid produced by Pycnoporus sanguineus.

The aim of this work was to obtain a LMS pre-treatment applicable to industrial TCF bleaching. Kraft pulp from Eucalyptus globulus was treated at 40 degrees C/pH 3 and 60 degrees C/pH 5 for 1h using an extracellular fluid enriched in laccase produced by Pycnoporus sanguineus and acetosyringone as mediator (HBT was used as a control mediator) (L). Alkaline extraction (E) and hydrogen peroxide (P) stages were then assayed. The LEP alternative was an efficient sequence to bleach kraft pulp since the enzymatic pre-treatment boosted the subsequent chemical bleaching. The best L pre-treatment was obtained with laccase-acetosyringone at 40 degrees C/pH 3. It reduces kappa number and hexenuronic acids, increases pulp viscosity, lowers hydrogen peroxide consumption down to an 87.4% (94.0% without L) and enhances brightness up to a 59% ISO (51% ISO without L).

Enhancement of enzymatic saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus: Steam explosion versus steam treatment

Steam explosion and steam pre-treatment have proved capable of enhancing enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic materials. However, until now, these methods had not been compared under the same operational conditions and using the same raw material. Both pre-treatments lead to increased yields in the saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus; but results have been better with steam pre-treatments, despite the more accessible surface of exploded samples. The reason for this finding could be enzymatic inhibition: steam explosion causes a more extensive extraction of hemicelluloses and releases a greater amount of degradation products which can inhibit enzymatic action. Enzymatic inhibition is also dependent on the amount and chemical structure of lignin, which was also a contributing factor to the lower enzymatic yields obtained with the most severe pre-treatment. Thus, the highest yields (46.7% glucose and 73.4% xylose yields) were obtained after two cycle of steam treatment, of 5 and 3 min, at 183°C.

Biobleaching of pulp from oil palm empty fruit bunches with laccase and xylanase.

Laccase and xylanase were tested for their suitability for biobleaching of soda-anthraquinone pulp from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB). An enzymatic stage with xylanase (X) and/or laccase (L) was incorporated before the alkaline extraction stage (E) and the hydrogen peroxide bleaching stage (P). Compared with controls, the LEP sequence resulted in an improvement of optical properties (brightness and colorimetric properties) and a reduction of the kappa number. When xylanase and laccase were used jointly, no improvement was detected, however, when the xylanase application preceded the laccase stage, the beneficial effects of laccase were boosted. Thus, the final XLEP bleached pulp showed a kappa number of 5.4 and a brightness of 60.5% ISO, although the hydrogen peroxide consumption increased (77.0% vs. 64.5% and 73.8% for EP and LEP respectively). Finally, after subjecting the bleached pulps to accelerated ageing, the best optical properties were observed in the XLEP pulp.

Use of new endophytic fungi as pretreatment to enhance enzymatic saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus

New endophytic fungi are assessed for the first time as pretreatment to enhance saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus wood. The fungi are all laccase-producing ascomycetes and were isolated from eucalyptus trees in Spain. After five endophytes had been assayed alone or in combination with white-rot fungus Trametes sp. I-62, three were pre-selected. To improve sugar production, an autohydrolysis pretreatment was performed before or after fungal treatment. Pretreatment increased sugar production 2.7 times compared to non-pretreated wood. When fungal and autohydrolysis pretreatments were combined, a synergistic increase in saccharification was observed in all cases. Endophytic fungi Ulocladium sp. and Hormonema sp. produced greater enhancements in saccharification than Trametes sp. I-62 (increase in sugar yields of 8.5, 8.0 and 6.0 times, respectively), demonstrating the high potential of these new endophytic fungi for saccharification enhancement.

Effect of steam explosion and enzymatic pre-treatments on pulping and bleaching of Hesperaloe funifera.

A non-wood raw material with high potential for pulp and paper applications (Hesperaloe funifera) was subjected to a steam explosion pre-treatment, and the subsequent effect of this pretreatment on biopulping and biobleaching was studied. An increase in the delignification rate, bigger than that reported for autohydrolysis and acid hydrolysis pre-treatments, and a reduction in chemical consumption were found during kraft pulping of the exploded samples. However, biopulping with the laccase-mediator system (LMS) did not lead to a reduction in the kappa number in either non-exploded or exploded unbleached pulps. On the other hand, the steam explosion pretreatment boosted the advantages of the LMS pre-treatment (decrease in kappa number and increase in brightness) favored biobleaching, with a 53.1% delignification rate and a final brightness of 67% ISO. Finally, the steam explosion pre-treatment also improved the color properties of the bleached pulp and reduced the hydrogen peroxide consumption by 24.6%.

Evaluation of lignins from side-streams generated in an olive tree pruning-based biorefinery: Bioethanol production and alkaline pulping

In modern lignocellulosic-based biorefineries, carbohydrates can be transformed into biofuels and pulp and paper, whereas lignin is burned to obtain energy. However, a part of lignin could be converted into value-added products including bio-based aromatic chemicals, as well as building blocks for materials. Then, a good knowledge of lignin is necessary to define its valorisation procedure. This study characterized different lignins from side-streams produced from olive tree pruning bioethanol production (lignins collected from steam explosion pretreatment with water or phosphoric acid as catalysts, followed by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process) and alkaline pulping (lignins recovered from kraft and soda-AQ black liquors). Together with the chemical composition, the structure of lignins was investigated by FTIR, 13C NMR, and 2D NMR. Bioethanol lignins had clearly distinct characteristics compared to pulping lignins; a certain number of side-chain linkages (mostly alkyl-aryl ether and resinol) accompanied with lower phenolic hydroxyls content. Bioethanol lignins also showed a significant amount of carbohydrates, mainly glucose and protein impurities. By contrast, pulping lignins revealed xylose together with a dramatical reduction of side-chains (some resinol linkages survive) and thereby higher phenol content, indicating rather severe lignin degradation during alkaline pulping processes. All lignins showed a predominance of syringyl units.

Assessing cellulose nanofiber production from olive tree pruning residue

Pruning operation in olive trees generates a large amount of biomass that is normally burned causing severe environmental concern. Therefore, the transformation of this agricultural residue into value-added products is imperative but still remains as a technological challenge. In this study, olive tree pruning (OTP) residue is evaluated for the first time to produce cellulose nanofibers (CNF). The OTP bleached pulp was treated by TEMPO-mediated oxidation and subsequent defibrillation in a microfluidizer. The resulting CNF was characterized and compared to CNF obtained from a commercial bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp using the same chemi-mechanical procedure. CNF from OTP showed higher carboxylate content but lower fibrillation yield and optical transmittance as compared to eucalyptus CNF. Finally, the visco-elastic gel obtained from OTP was stronger than that produced from eucalyptus. Therefore, the properties of CNF from OTP made this nanomaterial suitable for several applications. CNF from OTP showed higher carboxylate content as compared to eucalyptus CNF (1038 vs. 778μmol/g) but lower fibrillation yield (48% vs. 96%) and optical transmittance. Finally, the visco-elastic gel obtained from OTP was stronger than that produced from eucalyptus. Therefore, the properties of CNF from OTP made this nanomaterial suitable for several applications.

Comparison of the efficiency of bacterial and fungal laccases in delignification and detoxification of steam-pretreated lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production

This study evaluates the potential of a bacterial laccase from Streptomyces ipomoeae (SilA) for delignification and detoxification of steam-exploded wheat straw, in comparison with a commercial fungal laccase from Trametes villosa. When alkali extraction followed by SilA laccase treatment was applied to the water insoluble solids fraction, a slight reduction in lignin content was detected, and after a saccharification step, an increase in both glucose and xylose production (16 and 6%, respectively) was observed. These effects were not produced with T. villosa laccase. Concerning to the fermentation process, the treatment of the steam-exploded whole slurry with both laccases produced a decrease in the phenol content by up to 35 and 71% with bacterial and fungal laccases, respectively. The phenols reduction resulted in an improved performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process, improving ethanol production rate. This enhancement was more marked with a presaccharification step prior to the SSF process.

Potential of different poplar clones for sugar production

In a poplar clonal plantation with different species and hybrids, established at 13,333 cuttings ha−1, biomass production was assessed at the end of the first rotation (3xa0years) and the potential of the different clones for sugar production was evaluated. The highest biomass production was observed for clones ‘AF2’ and ‘Viriato’ (46.5 and 42xa0txa0dmxa0ha−1, respectively). After a mild acid pretreatment and an enzymatic saccharification, the highest sugar digestibility was found for ‘Viriato’ and ‘Unal’. A clear relation between sugar digestibility and xylan removal during pretreatment was observed, while no relation with lignin content was found. Taking into account the results, the highest production of sugars per hectare was estimated for the poplar clone ‘Viriato’, being 18–48% higher than that achieved with the other clones. Therefore, this clone is a promising candidate to be used as feedstock for sugar production in a forest biorefinery.

Influence of process variables on the properties of laccase biobleached pulps

A laccase stage can be used as a pre-treatment of a standard chemical bleaching sequence to reduce environmental concerns associated to this process. The importance of each independent variable and its influence on the properties of the bleached pulp have been studied in depth in this work, using an adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) with four independent variables (laccase, buffer, mediator and oxygen) as input. Eucalyptus globulus kraft pulp was biobleached using a laccase from Pycnoporus sanguineus and a natural mediator (acetosyringone). Later, an alkaline extraction and a hydrogen peroxide treatment were applied. Most biobleaching processes showed a decrease in kappa number and an increase in brightness with no significant impact on the viscosity values, compared with the control. Oxygen was the variable with the smallest influence on the final pulp properties while the laccase and buffer solution showed a significant influence.