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Title: Lignocellulose Recalcitrance Screening by Integrated High Throughput Hydrothermal Pretreatment and Enzymatic Saccharification

Journal Article · · Industrial Biotechnology

We report a novel 96-well multiplate reactor system for comparative analysis of lignocellulose recalcitrance via integrated hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification. The system utilizes stackable nickel/gold-plated 96-well aluminum reactor plates, a clamping device fit to a standard Parr reactor, and robotics for efficient liquids and solids handling. A capacity of 20 plates allows up to 1,920 separate hydrothermal reactions per run. Direct and rapid analysis of key end-products, glucose and xylose, is facilitated by the use of glucose oxidase/peroxidase and xylose dehydrogenase-linked assays. To demonstrate efficacy, a set of 755 poplar core samples from the US Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center was tested. Total sugar release ranged from 0.17 to 0.64 g/g of biomass and correlated strongly with the ratio of syringyl to guaiacyl lignins in the samples. Variance among sample replicates was sufficiently minimal to permit clear assignment of differences in recalcitrance throughout this large sample set.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1036361
Journal Information:
Industrial Biotechnology, Vol. 6, Issue 2; ISSN 0268-3024
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English