Large-Scale Implementation of a New Technique for Sugar Extraction and Conversion to Furans from Biomass Hydrolysates

Lignocellulosic biomass is a sustainable feedstock for production of furans – 5-hydroxymethy furfural and furfural – versatile platform molecules that can be converted to drop-in fuels and precursors for synthetic materials. Lack of efficient pathways from lignocellulosic sugars constitutes a major barrier to the industrial production of furans. We have recently achieved high yields of furans from biomass hydrolysates using a novel hybrid enzyme- and chemo-catalytic technology. The presentation will provide proof-of-concept (bench-scale) experimental data on this novel technology as well as results from larger-scale implementation in process-modules, using biomass hydrolysates generated via AFEX (Ammonia Fiber Expansion) pretreatment.