Xylitol production from prehydrolysis liquor of Kraft-based dissolving pulp by Candida tropicalis

Abstract

Xylitol production from the hemicelluloses of prehydrolysis liquor (PHL) is of practical interest from both economic and environmental standpoints. The removal of the inhibitors, e.g., lignin, acetic acid, and furfural, is the key to improving the conversion of xylose to xylitol when Candida tropicalis fermentation is used. For this purpose, a full chain process involving activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange resin treatment, acidolysis, and fermentation was considered in this work. The results showed that 72.6% of lignin and 67.1% of furfural were removed using an activated carbon dosage of 20 mg/g PHL. Additionally, 61.2% of acetic acid was also removed at a resin dosage of 100 mg/g PHL. Subsequently, acidolysis using sulfuric acid and pH adjustment with lime was performed on the treated PHL to convert the oligosaccharides into monosaccharides; a yield of 0.40 g xylitol/g xylose was achieved via treating the PHL with Candida tropicalis fermentation at 30 °C, 200 rpm, and 96 h. In addition, a material balance was determined for the full chain process.