Ethanol/water pulps from sugar cane straw and their biobleaching with xylanase from Bacillus pumilus.

The influence of independent variables (temperature and time) on the cooking of sugar cane straw with ethanol/water mixtures was studied to determine operating conditions that obtain pulp with high cellulose contents and a low lignin content. An experimental 2(2) design was applied for temperatures of 185 and 215 degrees C, and time of 1 and 2.5 h with the ethanol/water mixture concentration and constant straw-to-solvent ratio. The system was scaled-up at 200 degrees C cooking temperature for 2 h with 50% ethanol-water concentration, and 1:10 (w/v) straw-to-solvent ratio to obtain a pulp with 3.14 cP viscosity, 58.09 kappa-number, and the chemical composition of the pulps were 3.2% pentosan and 31.5% lignin. Xylanase from Bacillus pumilus was then applied at a loading of 5-150 IU/g dry pulp in the sugar cane straw ethanol/water pulp at 50 degrees C for 2 and 20 h. To ethanol/water pulps, the best enzyme dosage was found to be 20 IU/g dry pulp at 20 h, and a high enzyme dosage of 150 IU/g dry pulp did not decrease the kappa-number of the pulp.

Reuse of the xylanase enzyme in the biobleaching process of the sugarcane bagasse acetosolv pulp.

In this work, pretreatment-enzymatic series of the bagasse-sugarcane pulp and alkaline extraction of enzyme treated pulp were carried out. In the pretreatment an enzyme dose was utilized and acetosolv pulp suspension of 3% (w/v) with different solvents (distilled water, 0.05 mol/L acetate buffer pH 5.5 and 0.05 mol/L phosphate buffer pH 7.25) stirred at 85 rpm for 2 or 4 h. The enzymes used were pulpzyme and cartazyme, both commercial. The accompaniment of the enzymatic activity was carried out through measurement in initial and finish of each enzymatic pretreatment. The xylanase-treated pulps and xylanase-alkaline-extracted pulps were analyzed regarding kappa number and viscosity. Pulpzyme recovery was better in phosphate buffered medium (84, 46, and 23% for first, second, and third enzymatic treatment, respectively) although in aqueous medium reached only 2% for every treatments. However, the improvement of pulp properties was evidenced only in aqueous medium for pulpzyme. Cartazyme recovery was similar for both solvents (water and acetate buffer), reaching values around 19% for first enzymatic treatment and 9% for second one. Nevertheless, the pulp properties increased only in acetate buffered medium.

Integrated processes for use of pulps and lignins obtained from sugarcane bagasse and straw: a review of recent efforts in Brazil.

Sugarcane bagasse and straw can be converted into pulps, oils, controlled-release formulations, chelating agents, and composites. This article reviews bagasse and straw conversion efforts in Brazil. Laboratory-scale processes were developed aiming at the integral use of these biomass byprod ucts. Organosolv pulping and oxidation of lignin are the most promising processes for the rational use of sugarcane residues. Fungal pretreatment and spectroscopic characterization are also discussed.

Sugarcane bagasse pulps: biobleaching with commercial cartazyme HS and with Bacillus pumilus xylanase.

Organosolv (ethanol/water and acetosolv) pulps were treated with Bacillus pumilus xylanase for 4, 8, and 12 h and compared with commercial Cartazyme HS xylanase-treated pulps. Treatment of ethanol/water pulps with B. pumilus xylanase increased viscosity by 40% in 8 h of treatment compared with pulps treated without enzyme. However, acetosolv pulps treated with B. pumilus xylanase lost viscosity. Ethanol/water pulps treated with Cartazyme had a viscosity of 18.5 cP in 4 h of treatment. In the acetosolv pulps treated with commercial enzyme, the loss of viscosity was 20% compared with pulps treated without enzyme. Ethanol/water pulps treated with B. pumilus and Cartazyme had similar effects: a 44% reduction in kappa number for pulps treated with enzyme followed by alkaline extraction compared with pulps treated with alkaline extraction. In acetosolv pulps treated with B. pumilus, the kappa number was from 12 to 18, compared with pulps treated without enzyme, which had a 40% reduction in 4 and 12 h and a 60% reduction in 8 h. Cartazyme-treated acetosolv pulps had a kappa number of 14 in 4 and 8 h of treatment. For 12 h of treatment, the kappa number was 8. Fourier transform infrared spectra of the pulps showed that enzyme-treated pulps had changes in the 1000 cm-1 absorption owing to a C-O bond present in esters. Using principal component analysis, it is possible to differentiate the unbleached pulps and enzyme-treated pulps.

Enzymatic bleaching of organosolv sugarcane bagasse pulps with recombinant xylanase of the fungus Humicola grisea and with commercial Cartazyme HS xylanase.

Organosolv (ethanol/water and acetosolv) pulps were treated with Humicola grisea var. thermoidea and compared with Cartazyme HS xylanase-treated pulp. The ethanol/water pulps treated with H. grisea had the same viscosity as unbleached pulps (8 cP). Ethanol/water pulps treated with Cartazyme had higher viscosity than H. grisea-treated pulps (12 cP). Acetosolv pulps treated with H. grisea and Cartazyme presented a reduction in viscosity; however, the pulps treated with H. grisea had a lower reduction in viscosity than Cartazyme-treated pulps. Ethanol/water pulps treated with H. grisea had a 23% reduction in kappa number in 4 and 8 h of treatment, compared with the unbleached pulps. Cartazyme-treated pulps had a kappa number similar to that of the control pulps for 4 h of treatment. Extending the treatment time to 12 h resulted in a reduction of 33%. The acetosolv pulp treated with H. grisea had a kappa number reduced to 23% in 4 h. Cartazyme treatment resulted in a reduction of 55 and 44% in kappa number for 4 and 8 h of treatment, respectively, when compared with control pulp. Extending the treatment time to 12 h decreased the kappa number 72%. Fourier transform infrared spectra and principal component analysis showed differences among unbleached, H. grisea-treated, and Cartazyme-treated pulps.