Methods for treating lignocellulosic materials
The present invention relates to methods of processing lignocellulosic material to obtain hemicellulose sugars, cellulose sugars, lignin, cellulose and other high-value products. Also provided are hemicellulose sugars, cellulose sugars, lignin, cellulose, and other high-value products.
1. A method of separating xylose from a biomass-derived sugar stream, the method comprising:
removing an acid from the biomass-derived sugar stream to form an acid-depleted sugar stream comprising less than 0.5% acid by weight;
fractionating the acid-depleted sugar stream using a chromatographic separation system comprising a weak base anion (WBA) exchange resin; and
collecting a fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.40 weight/weight.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chromatographic separation system further comprises a strong acidic cation (SAC) exchange resin.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the acid-depleted sugar stream is first fractionated with the SAC exchange resin followed by the WBA exchange resin.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chromatographic separation system further comprises a weak acid cation (WAC) exchange resin.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the acid-depleted sugar stream is first fractionated with the WAC exchange resin followed by the WBA exchange resin.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein an eluent of the fractionating is water or an aqueous solution.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fractionating is performed at a temperature from 20° C. to 90° C.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fractionating is performed using a batch mode, a simulated moving bed (SMB) mode, or a sequential simulated moving bed (SSMB) mode.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chromatographic separation system comprises a recirculation loop.
10. The method of claim 1 , comprising collecting the fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.60 weight/weight.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the xylose is collected in an amount corresponding to 48% or 55% of total dry solids present in the collected fraction.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the collected amount of xylose corresponds to a recovery of at least 80% based on xylose content of the initial biomass-derived sugar stream.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biomass-derived sugar stream is derived from lignocellulosic biomass, softwood biomass, hardwood biomass, eucalyptus , or bagasse.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the acid comprises separating an acidic hemicellulose sugar stream from the biomass-derived sugar stream.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the biomass is selected from the group consisting of lignocellulosic biomass, softwood biomass, hardwood biomass, eucalyptus , and bagasse.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removing comprises extraction with an amine.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acid-depleted sugar stream comprises less than 1% impurities.
18. A method of separating xylose from a biomass-derived sugar stream, the method comprising:
contacting the biomass-derived sugar stream with an amine extractant to form a mixture;
separating from the mixture a first stream comprising the amine extractant and an acid or an impurity and a second stream comprising one or more sugars;
fractionating the second stream using a chromatographic separation system comprising a weak base anion (WBA) exchange resin; and
collecting a fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.40 weight/weight.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second stream comprises less than 0.5% acid by weight.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second stream comprises less than 1% impurities.
21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the chromatographic separation system further comprises a strong acidic cation (SAC) exchange resin.
22. The method of claim 18 , wherein the chromatographic separation system further comprises a weak acid cation (WAC) exchange resin.
23. The method of claim 18 , wherein the fractionating is performed using a batch mode, a simulated moving bed (SMB) mode, or a sequential simulated moving bed (SSMB) mode.
24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the chromatographic separation system comprises a recirculation loop.
25. The method of claim 18 , comprising collecting the fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.6 weight/weight.
26. The method of claim 18 , comprising collecting the fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.75 weight/weight.
27. The method of claim 18 , wherein the xylose is collected in an amount corresponding to 48% or 55% of total dry solids present in the collected fraction.
28. The method of claim 18 , wherein the collected amount of xylose corresponds to a recovery of at least 80% based on xylose content of the initial biomass-derived sugar stream.
29. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second stream comprises less than 0.5% acid by weight.
30. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second stream comprises less than 1% impurities.
31. The method of claim 1 , comprising collecting the fraction containing xylose in a ratio to total dissolved sugars (DS)>0.75 weight/weight.