Influence of delignification efficiency with alkaline peroxide on the digestibility of furfural residues for bioethanol production

Abstract Furfural residues (FR), the abundant lignocellulosic residues from commercial furfural production, were delignified with alkaline peroxide process and then taken as substrates for ethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). It was apparent that the delignification efficiency was increased with higher chemical addition and temperature, reaching the maximum removal (73.5%) of lignin. The widespread accessible-cellulose in FR favored the enzymatic hydrolysis and achieved the considerable bioconversion (75.7% with 5 FPU + 10 IU/g substrate). The delignification process increased the relative glucose content and then the bioconversion efficiency, closely relating to the increased specific surface area. As the cellulose contents were higher than 60%, the final conversions conversely fell to around 75%, probably due to the insufficient utilization of all active cellulose with low enzyme cocktails addition. Although the SSF bioconversion slightly decreased as the elevated amount of fermentable cellulose, the maximum of ethanol concentration (16.9 g/L) was expectedly obtained.