Cellulolytic enzyme-aided extraction of hemicellulose from switchgrass and its characteristics

Jinhua Ding, Chang Geun Yoo, Yunqiao Pu, Xianzhi Meng, Samarthya Bhagia, Chongwen Yu, Arthur J. Ragauskas

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41 Scopus citations

Abstract

The isolation of biomass components with their intact structure is crucial for understanding the characteristics of biomass. Compared to other major biomass components such as cellulose and lignin, hemicellulose remains a challenging component to be isolated from the plant cell wall without significant depolymerization and modification. In this study, a novel cellulolytic enzyme-aided hemicellulose (CEH) isolation method was developed to isolate hemicellulose with a near-native branched structure from switchgrass. The structural characteristics of CEH were investigated and compared with hemicelluloses isolated by conventional alkaline extracted hemicellulose (AEH) and DMSO extracted hemicellulose (DMSOH) methods. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis indicated that CEH had a weight-average molecular weight of 44 kDa, which was comparable to that of AEH (43 kDa) but higher than that of DMSOH (37 kDa). The chemical composition analysis revealed that CEH retained a higher proportion of glucuronic acid compared to AEH and DMSOH. The 2D 13C-1H heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) NMR spectra containing the β-(1,4)-linked-d-xylan backbone, non-reducing-end peaks and both α- and β-reducing-end peaks in CEH were comparable to the spectra of the commercial beechwood xylan. CEH showed a highly branched hemicellulose structure, which retained methoxyl groups, O-acetyl groups, and 4-O-methyl-glucuronic acid attached to the xylan backbone.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3902-3910
Number of pages9
JournalGreen Chemistry
Volume21
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. This study was supported and performed as part of the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI). The CBI is U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science. This work is also partially supported by the Genomic Science Program, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), under Contract FWP ERKP752. Notice: The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy. gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof nor any of their employees makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or respon- sibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. The authors acknowledge the generous funding support from the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System for Best and Leaf Fiber Crops (CARS-16). The innovation fund for graduate students provided by Donghua University (CUSF-DH-D-2017022) is also acknowledged. J. D. acknowledge the fellowship from Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC).

FundersFunder number
Chinese Scholarship Council
DOE Office of Science
Office of Biological and Environmental Research
U. S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of EnergyFWP ERKP752
Center for Bioenergy Innovation
Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research SystemCARS-16

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