Comparative study of biorefinery processes for the valorization of fast-growing Paulownia wood. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: del Río, Pablo G.; Domínguez, Viana D.; Domínguez, Elena; Gullón, Patricia; Gullón, Beatriz; Garrote, Gil; Romaní, Aloia
• Is Part Of: Bioresource technology. Volume 314(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Paulownia wood -- Biorefinery -- Autohydrolysis -- Organosolv delignification -- Bioethanol; Biomass -- Periodicals; Biomass energy -- Periodicals; Bioremediation -- Periodicals; Agricultural wastes -- Periodicals; Factory and trade waste -- Periodicals; Organic wastes -- Periodicals; Bioénergie -- Périodiques; Déchets agricoles -- Périodiques; Déchets industriels -- Périodiques; Déchets organiques -- Périodiques; Déchets (Combustible) -- Périodiques; 662.88
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123722
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-8524

Abstract

Highlights: Three process configurations were proposed for the fractionation of Paulownia wood. Autohydrolysis allowed to solubilize 85% of hemicellulosic compounds. Organosolv delignification was suitable to release up to 71% of the lignin. Combination of both processes enables suitable recovery of all Paulownia fractions. High ethanol titer (64 g/L) was obtained from pretreated wood by combined processes. Abstract: In this work, valorization of Paulownia wood (PW) was proposed following several process configurations for biofuels and value-added compounds production. Firstly, autohydrolysis and ethanol-organosolv strategies were assessed separately for the fractionation of PW to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose. A third strategy focused on a sequential process (autohydrolysis and organosolv) was explored. Two temperatures were selected for the first stage of the combined process. High concentration of oligosaccharides (26.29 g/L) and high concentration of degradation products (17.21 g/L) were obtained at 210 and 230 °C, respectively. The solids obtained from both pretreatments were subjected to organosolv delignification (200 °C, 3 h and 50% ethanol) achieving delignification of 58 and 30% for the autohydrolyzed biomass at 210 °C and 230 °C, respectively. The combined process resulted in susceptible biomass able to produce 64 g/L of ethanol. Therefore, the strategies explored in this work open the possibility to build a refinery around Paulownia wood.