Principal Investigator:
Don Day, Professor, Audubon Sugar Institute
Co-PI:
Brian White, Research Associate - Chief Chemist, Audubon Sugar Institute
Abstract:
This project was proposed with the intent to upgrade and modernize our facilities so that the institution would be capable of handling advanced research projects for sugar processing or any type of biotechnology in Louisiana. The institute has been developing into a focal point for biotechnology development and commercialization. This proposal will enable Audubon Sugar Institute to continue to increase its role in the development of commercially viable products through the utilization of biomass and expand its ability to serve the Louisiana sugar industry. A gas chromatograph (GC) with a mass spectrometer (MS) detector will allow for the determination of the chemical compounds present in process samples. One specific application includes the identification of the chemical makeup of colored components and their precursors in sugar processing. Knowledge of the nature of colorants and their precursors will lead to the development and implementation of technologies aimed at the removal and inhibition of color. Another application is the identification of inhibitors in fermentation of sugar cane bagasse to develop robust analytical control methods for biomass, ensuring maximum ethanol yields.
Work on both of these projects is ongoing. The mass spectral data have been acquired using the chemistry department at LSU. This is a slow process, which becomes the limiting factor in meeting project deadlines. Another major concern is the expertise of the graduate students analyzing the samples; in particular the sample preparation and preservation. Samples such as cane juice and hydrolysates are extremely perishable and must be handled with care or components change rapidly.
Through this grant, a GC/MS with the associated data-acquisition software, spectral library, computer and interface will be used to identify chemical compounds, such as color precursors and cellulase inhibitors, in various samples for projects including color removal, biofuel development, utilization of sugarcane biomass and other feedstocks for the production of ethanol, clarification technology, etc. The specific project goals and objectives are as follows:
- Identify compounds leading to color formation in sugar processing, with the objective of gaining an understanding of the chemical mechanisms that form color and the conditions and chemicals that contribute to color formation.
- Identify compounds that are preferentially adsorbed onto carbon and ion exchange resins in order to invent and optimize regeneration protocols.
- Identify inhibiting compounds in both enzymatic treatment of bagasse and the subsequent yeast fermentation, with the objective of optimizing pretreatment processes to minimize inhibition and maximize fermentation yields.
- Identify fermentation products (alcohols, esters, glycerol etc.) and modifications of substances such as lignin that result from pretreatment of and fermentation processes with the intent of finding value-added products.