Composition, biomass solvent extract

We seek to determine an optimal composition of a multicomponent solvent utilized to remove hydrocarbons from yeast. The major index of purification here is the hydrocarbon content in biomass upon extraction (y). For technological and economic reasons, the experimental design is accomplished in a local section of the concentration, Fig. 3.23. 

The USDA characterized a large number of biomass species for their traditional composition fractions of ash, crude protein, polyphenols, oils and hydrocarbons among others. These fiactions were defined operationally by the USDA botanochemical screening project their sample analysis and fraction partitioning scheme is summarized in Fig. 1. Of interest were extractives, components that can he separated/paititioned from the plant by solvents. The major extractives included various oils, terpenes, fatty acids, unsaponiflables, aromatic compounds, tannins, and quinones. In exceptional cases extractives composed over 15% of the biomass (especially ash) but generally they did not exceed S-10%. 

Alonso et have eliminated pre-treatment steps to fractionate biomass. They made use of certain composition in biomass to obtain fuels and chemicals, and the rest of fraction was separated. The work used gamma-valerolactone (GVL) as solvent, and the cellulosic fraction of lignocellulosic biomass can be converted into levulinic acid (LA), while at the same conditions the hemicellulose fraction can be converted into furfural. The furfural can be separated by distillation during the reaction or can be kept in the reactor and subsequently processed to produce furfutyl alcohol and LA. The lignin was solubilized in the GVL and separated. This process not only obtains the production of fuels and chemicals by utilization of hemicellulose and cellulose, but also it benefits from the elimination of pre-treatment and extraction/separation steps. 

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