Continuous countercurrent chromatographic separator for the purification of sugars from biomass hydrolyzate. Final project report, July 1, 1996--September 30, 1997

Production of pure sugars is required to enable production of fuels and chemicals from biomass feedstocks. Hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose (principal constituents of biomass) produces sugars that can be utilized in various fermentation process to produce valuable chemicals. Unfortunately, the hydrolysis process also liberates chemicals from the biomass that can be toxic to the fermenting organisms. The two primary toxic components of biomass hydrolyzate are sulfuric acid (catalyst used in the hydrolysis) and acetic acid (a component of the feed biomass). In the standard batch chromatographic separation of these three components, sugar elutes in the middle. Batch chromatographic separations are not practical on a commercial scale, because of excess dilution and high capital costs. Because sugar is the {open_quotes}center product,{close_quotes} a continuous separation would require two costly binary separators. However, a single, slightly larger separator, configured to produce three products, would be more economical. This FIRST project develops a cost-effective method for purifying biomass hydrolyzate into fermentable sugars using a single continuous countercurrent separator to separate this ternary mixture