Process for enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material and fermentation of sugars

1. A process for preparation of a sugar product from lignocellulosic material, comprising:

a) optionally, pretreatment of the lignocellulosic material;

b) optionally, washing of the optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material;

c) fed-batch addition of the optionally washed and/or optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material to a first container that comprises an enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases, wherein at the start of the feeding, said first container already comprises said enzyme composition and the lignocellulosic material is added thereto;

d) enzymatic hydrolysis of the optionally washed and/or optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material in the first container using the enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases to liquefy the lignocellulosic material;

e) addition of the liquefied lignocellulosic material to a second container;

f) enzymatic hydrolysis of the liquefied lignocellulosic material in the second container using an enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases to obtain a sugar product; and

g) optionally, recovery of the sugar product;

wherein oxygen is added to the first and/or second container.

2. A process for preparation of a fermentation product from lignocellulosic material, comprising:

a) optionally, pretreatment of the lignocellulosic material;

b) optionally, washing of the optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material;

c) fed-batch addition of the optionally washed and/or optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material to a first container that comprises an enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases, wherein at the start of the feeding, said first container already comprises said enzyme composition and the lignocellulosic material is added thereto;

d) enzymatic hydrolysis of the optionally washed and/or optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material in the first container using the enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases to liquefy the lignocellulosic material;

e) addition of the liquefied lignocellulosic material to a second container;

f) enzymatic hydrolysis of the liquefied lignocellulosic material in the second container using an enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases to obtain a hydrolysed lignocellulosic material;

g) optionally, recovery of the hydrolysed lignocellulosic material;

h) fermentation of the hydrolysed lignocellulosic material to produce a fermentation product; and

i) optionally, recovery of the fermentation product;

wherein oxygen is added to the first and/or second container.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein additional enzymes are added during (d) and/or (f).

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the viscosity of the lignocellulosic material in the first container during (d) is controlled by adjusting the addition rate of the optionally washed and/or optionally pretreated lignocellulosic material.

5. The process according to claim 4 , wherein the viscosity of the lignocellulosic material in the first container during (d) is kept below 1000 cP.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein an aqueous composition, optionally an aqueous enzyme composition comprising at least two cellulases, is added to the first container.

7. The process according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the oxygen is added to a headspace of the container.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the first container and/or second container has a volume of at least 1 m 3 .

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the enzymatic hydrolysis time in (d) is 3 to 24 hours.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the enzymatic hydrolysis time in (f) is 3 to 120 hours.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the enzymatic hydrolysis in (d) and/or (f) is conducted at a temperature of 45° C. or more, optionally 50° C. or more and optionally at a temperature of 55° C. or more.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition is derived from a fungus, optionally a microorganism of the genus Rasamsonia , or the enzyme composition comprises a fungal enzyme, optionally a Rasamsonia enzyme.

13. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the fermentation in (h) is performed in the second container.

14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the dry matter content at the end of hydrolysis of (f) is 5 wt % or higher.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition is a whole fermentation broth.

16. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the fermentation in (h) is conducted with a microorganism that is able to ferment at least one C5 sugar.