(176a) Industrial-Scale Corncob Biorefinery

Corncob is an abundant and renewable resource mainly consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The incorporation of corncobs into food ingredients production plays a pivotal role in ensuring sustainability. After mild pretreatment, the hemicellulose in the corncob is dissolved and five-carbon sugar such as xylose is extracted, which can further be hydrogenated to xylitol as a key sweetener with 40% fewer calories than sucrose. This process has been well established industrially. The corncob residue is usually burnt out for power. Our on-going study aims to utilize the remaining components for industrial applications. ln this presentation, we will provide an overview of high-solids enzymatic conversion of corncob residue together with lignin extraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis process of high-solids loading up to 25% dry matter was developed and the conversion of cellulose reached to 85% (w/w). Examples of bioconversion of cellulosic sugar to food ingredients such as allulose and erythritol will be illustrated. Furthermore, lignin with high purity was produced through a proprietary process, and is used as emerging biosurfactant in replacing petroleum to promote the low-carbon economy. Through process development and engineering scale-up, three components of corncob can be utilized in an industrial-scale manner.