Lignocellulose conversion processes and products
Processes for converting lignocellulose to feedstock and downstream products are disclosed. The processes may include acid treatment of lignocellulose to produce a fermentation feedstock. In various instances, the processes include recovery or recycling of acid, such as recovery of hydrochloric acid from concentrated and/or dilute streams. Downstream products may include acrylic acid-based products such as diapers, paper and paper-based products, ethanol, biofuels such as biodiesel and fuel additives, and detergents.
1. A carbohydrate mixture derived from a lignocellulosic hydrolyzate comprising: (i) disaccharides in a proportion relative to a total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.05, (ii) at least one pentose in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.05, (iii) an alpha-bonded carbohydrate, (iv) a beta bonded carbohydrate, (v) furfural, in an amount up to 1000 ppm and (vi) more than 100 ppb S1 solvent characterized by a water solubility of less than 10% and by at least one of (a1) having a polarity related component of Hoy's cohesion parameter (delta-P) between 5 and 10 MPa 1/2 and (b1) having a hydrogen bonding related component of Hoy's cohesion parameter (delta-H) between 5 and 20 MPa 1/2 .
2. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , further comprising oligomers in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of less than 0.2.
3. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the disaccharides are present in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.1.
4. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the disaccharides are present in a proportion relative to monomers of at least 0.05.
5. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pentose is xylose or arabinose.
6. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , further comprising at least one hexose.
7. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 6 , wherein the at least one hexose is glucose or mannose.
8. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the at least one pentose is present in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.1.
9. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the alpha-bonded carbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of maltose, isomaltose, trehalose, kojibiose, and nigerose.
10. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the alpha-bonded carbohydrate is present in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.01.
11. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the beta-bonded carbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of gentiobiose, sophorose, cellobiose, laminaribiose, and beta-trehalose.
12. The carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 , wherein the beta-bonded carbohydrate is present in a proportion relative to the total carbohydrate content of the carbohydrate mixture of at least 0.01.
13. A method comprising fermenting a medium comprising the carbohydrate mixture of claim 1 to produce a fermentation product.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the fermentation product is selected from the group consisting of alcohols, organic acids, organic esters of 3 to 12 carbon atoms, amino acids, peptides, and proteins.
15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising processing the fermentation product to produce a consumable product.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product comprises at least 5% by weight of the fermentation product.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product comprises more than 100 ppb S1 solvent.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product has a ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 of about 2.0 ×10 −13 or greater.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product is ethanol-enriched gasoline, butanol-enriched gasoline, diesel fuel, gasoline, jet fuel, biodiesel or drop-in fuels.
20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product is a detergent precursor, a polyolefin precursor, a polylactic acid precursor, a polyhydroxyalkanoate precursor, a polyacrylate precursor or an acrylic acid precursor.
21. The method of claim 15 , wherein the consumable product is selected from the group consisting of detergent, polyethylene-based products, polypropylene-based products, polyolefin-based products, polylactic acid-based products, polyhydroxyalkanoate-based products and polyacrylic-based products.