(4ji) A Chemical Recovery Free Deacetylation and Mechanical Refining Process for Efficient Conversion of Corn Stover to Hightly Fermentable and Low Carbon Intensity Sugars

• Biomass refining and conversion: Biomass pretreatment, Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose, Liquid biofuel production, Chemical modification of cellulose and lignin for high-value utilization
• Flexible Electronic Sensing: Paper-based sensor, Nanocellulose-based flexible sensors
• Pulping and Paper making: Clean pulping technology, Functional paper making, Waterproof coatings
• Advanced cellulose-based materials: Nanocellulose film, Food packaging, Sustainable cellulose nanomaterial

The deacetylation and mechanical refining (DMR) process has proven to be a highly efficient method for converting biomass into low-toxicity, high-concentration sugar syrups. However, the substantial volume of liquid waste (LW) with spent sodium salt generated during deacetylation process poses significant recovery challenges. To mitigate this issue, we introduced a multistage approach incorporating aqueous ammonia impregnation and KOH pretreatment in the deacetylation phase, followed with mechanical refining. This innovative DMR method achieved monomeric glucose and xylose yields of approximately 85% and 80%, respectively. The recovered LW contains nitrogen, potassium, lignin and other extractives that can be reused for plant fertilization. We showed that using the LW as fertilizer significantly boosted crop growth and yields, particularly for corn and tomatoes. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and LCA analysis indicate that this CRF-DMR process offers a cost effective and sustainable pathway for cellulosic biofuel production.