In-House Extracted Soybean Protein Can Reduce the Enzyme Dosage in Biomass Saccharification

Bioconversion of the complex carbohydrates present in lignocellulosic biomass into simple sugars, in order to obtain biofuels and bio-based products, is still limited by the low performance of the enzymatic saccharification reaction and the high cost of cellulolytic enzymes. Low-cost additives such as soybean protein can reduce the unproductive adsorption of cellulases onto lignin, increasing conversion rates and reducing enzyme losses. Here, investigation was made of the effects of different soybean protein fractions, extracted in-house, on the enzymatic saccharification of hydrothermally pretreated sugarcane bagasse. The glucose released during biomass saccharification increased by up to 76% in the presence of the in-house extracted soybean protein, compared to the control (without additive). A remarkable finding was that the technique allowed the enzyme loading to be decreased four-fold. The results suggested that the alkali-extracted proteins presented high surface hydrophobicity, which enhanced their interaction with lignin and reduced the unproductive binding of cellulases. Among the main soybean protein fractions, glycinin had the best effect in improving saccharification, which could have been due to its higher hydrophobicity. Hence, in-house extracted soybean proteins seem to be interesting alternative additives capable of increasing the lignocellulosic biomass conversion efficiency in future biorefineries