Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research
Project Number: 8072-30600-002-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: May 23, 2025
End Date: May 22, 2030
Objective:
Objective 1: Advance an integrated deconstruction process to liberate fibers for downstream production of fermentable sugars via enzymatic hydrolysis. [NP306, C3, PS3A]
Sub-objective 1.A: Improve the performance of a non-fractionating chemical pretreatment process for lignocellulosic feedstocks.
Sub-objective 1.B: Develop a high solids enzymatic hydrolysis processing strategy for pretreated lignocellulosic fibers.
Objective 2: Establish fermentation processes using biomass-based sugars to produce precursor chemicals for upgrading to bio-based fuels, materials, or value-added co-products. [NP306, C3, PS3A]
Sub-objective 2.A: Improve yields of microbially produced 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) from biomass-based sugars for upgrading to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Sub-objective 2.B: Develop a fermentation process for biomass-based sugars for lipid generation using oleaginous yeast for bio-based fuels and chemicals.
Objective 3: Develop conversion processes using lignin for the generation of bio-based chemicals and materials [NP306, C3, PS3A]
Sub-objective 3.A: Develop lignin extraction and recovery, and characterization for herbaceous agricultural feedstocks to support the production of advanced biofuels, chemicals, and materials.
Sub-objective 3.B: Develop carbonization processes to generate tunable lignin-derived carbons and activated carbons to support the production of advanced biomaterials.
Sub-objective 3.C: Develop lignin-derived carbon components suitable for energy storage or additive manufacturing applications.
Approach:
An important national need is to identify optimal biorefining strategies and technologies that increase the value of herbaceous feedstocks by promoting and utilizing them to produce bio-based products. This project will examine and develop biorefining strategies for current and new herbaceous feedstocks to assess their overall biochemical conversion potential to bio-based chemicals, fuels, or materials. The primary focus is to improve the characterization and biorefining prospects for industrial hemp as a bioenergy feedstock to increase the understanding of utilizing specific hemp genotypes/phenotypes for bioprocessing and comparing the biochemical conversion response of hemp against a more traditional bioenergy crop, e.g., switchgrass. There are three independent objectives that complement each other. Objective 1 will examine an integrated deconstruction process that will unlock fibers to produce fermentable sugars via enzymatic hydrolysis. Objective 2 will develop and optimize fermentation processes using biomass-based sugars for conversion to specific precursor chemicals. Objective 3 will examine different conversion processes for recovered lignin to produce bio-based carbon materials. Each objective will contain proposed research that results in: 1. Biochemical deconstruction technologies incorporating new types of fibrous lignocellulosic feedstocks; 2. Bio-based precursor chemicals produced by microbial fermentation for upgrading to fuels or chemicals; 3. Fractionated lignin for upgrading to carbon-based materials. The project will impact stakeholders (both commercial and academic) by providing research on developing new biorefining technologies, fostering a better understanding of hemp utilization for biochemical conversion, and establishing new material applications for fractionated lignin.