The State University of New York

Bhavin V Bhayani

Bandaru V Ramarao

Byeong Cheol Min

A significant fraction of short fibers (fines) is produced while recycling Old Corrugated Containerboards (OCC), which are usually rejected as solid waste stream, requiring landfilling and posing environmental problems. The major component of these fines rejects are primarily cellulose that can be hydrolyzed into sugars for possible fermentation into biofuels, bioplastics or other sugar based products. Use of fines also offers benefits such as negative costs and production of fermentable sugars without requiring complex pretreatment processes, now required to hydrolyze and eliminate inhibitors from hydrolyzate. Enzymatic hydrolysis of reject fines from a recycled OCC mill, employing different strains of cellulases, were investigated. Fillers (up to 30 mass %) in the fines increases the required dosage of enzymes and costs. Enzyme loading can be lowered by addition of surfactants to reduce their inhibitory activity. The nonionic surfactant Triton X-80 improved hydrolysis yields by up to 10 percent points.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of old corrugated cardboard (OCC) fines from recycled linerboard mill waste rejects

A method for processing a stream of cellulosic fines containing inorganic particles, to increase a hydrolysis yield of polysaccharide degradation enzymes, such fines in a waste stream from a recycled packaging paper mill to produce a stream of fermentable sugars, comprising treating the fines with a surfactant which selectively binds to the inorganic particles and which reduces binding to the inorganic particles by the polysaccharide degradation enzymes, and degrading polysaccharides in the waste stream with the polysaccharide degradation enzymes.

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Syracuse, NY, United States of America

Bhavin V Bhayani