Product and processes from an integrated forest biorefinery
AssigneeThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York
InventorsThomas E. Amidon, Raymond Francis, Gary M. Scott, Jeremy Bartholomew, Bandaru V. Ramarao, Christopher D. Wood
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Abstract
An omnibus process of pulping and bleaching lignocellulosic materials in which a charge of a lignocellulosic material is biopulped and/or water extracted prior to pulping and bleaching. The lignocellulosic material may be mechanically pulped and bleached in the presence of an enzyme that breaks lignin-carbohydrate complexes. The aqueous extract in embodiments including a water extract step is separated into acetic acid and hemicellulose sugar aqueous solutions.
Claims20
A process of pulping lignocellulosic materials comprising:
- (a) contacting a charge of a lignocellulosic material with a fungus which breaks lignin-carbohydrate complexes in lignocellulosic materials;
- (b) contacting said lignocellulosic materials product of said step (a) with water at a temperature in the range of between about 140° C. and about 180° C. and the water having a pH in the range of between about 3 and about 6.9 for a period in the range of between about 1 minute and about 4 hours, wherein an aqueous extract and extracted lignocellulosic materials are obtained and wherein a percentage of solids extracted from the lignocellulosic material occurs at about half of the time as the same percentage of solids extracted from a lignocellulosic material that did not contact a fungus that breaks lignin-carbohydrate complexes;
- (c) pulping said extracted lignocellulosic materials wherein individual fibers and fiber bundles are produced;
- and
- (d) bleaching said product of said step (c).
A process of pulping lignocellulosic materials comprising:
- (a) contacting a charge of a lignocellulosic material with a fungus that breaks down lignin-carbohydrate complexes in said lignocellulosic material;
- (b) separating said enzyme product of said contacting step (a) from said fungus-contacted lignocellulosic material;
- (c) contacting said lignocellulosic materials product of said step (a) with water at a temperature in the range of between about 140° C. and about 180° C. and the water having a pH in the range of between about 3 and about 6.9 for a period in the range of between about 1 minute and about 4 hours, wherein an aqueous extract and extracted lignocellulosic materials are obtained and wherein a percentage of solids extracted from the lignocellulosic material occurs at about half of the time as the same percentage of solids extracted from a lignocellulosic material that did not contact a fungus that breaks lignin-carbohydrate complexes;
- (d) pulping said fungus-contacted lignocellulosic material;
- and
- (e) bleaching said pulp product of said step (c) in the presence of an enzyme that breaks down lignin-carbohydrate complexes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.