Chemical preconversion: application of low-severity pretreatment chemistries for commoditization of lignocellulosic feedstock

Abstract

Securing biofuels project financing is challenging, in part because of risks in feedstock supply. Commoditization of the feedstock and decoupling its supply from the biorefinery will promote greater economies of scale, reduce feedstock supply risk and reduce the need for overdesign of biorefinery pretreatment technologies. We present benefits and detractions of applying low-severity chemical treatments or ‘chemical preconversion treatments’ to enable this approach through feedstock modification and densification early in the supply chain. General structural modifications to biomass that support cost-effective densification and transportation are presented, followed by available chemistries to achieve these modifications with minimal yield loss and the potential for harvesting value in local economies. A brief review of existing biomass pretreatment technologies for cellulolytic hydrolysis at biorefineries is presented, followed by a discussion toward economically applying the underlying chemistries at reduced severity in light of capital and operational limitations of small-scale feedstock depots.

Disclaimer

This article was prepared as an account of work sponsored by agencies of the US Government. Neither the US Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that it use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the US Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the US Government or any agency thereof.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Preparation of this article was supported in part by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office Contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517. This manuscript has been authored by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517 with the US Department of Energy. The US Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US Government purposes.

Additional financial support of this work was provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, under ID number WIS01521 and the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative at the University of Wisconsin. Information presented in this manuscript related to the Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX™) technology was supported by the US Department of Energy, Golden Field Office under Award No. DE-EE0005071. Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) holds the exclusive license to distribute the AFEX technology. AFEX is a trademark of MBI. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.