Xylan extraction from short rotation willow biomass

Developing processes that can increase the number of products from willow biomass could significantly increase the value of willow. This study utilized a fungal pre-treatment (biopulping) using Ceriporiopsis subvermispora to increase the yield of water-extractable xylan from willow, Salix dasyclados.; The results of this study showed that a fungal pretreatment allowed for greater xylose recovery with a simple hot water extraction. Compared to the untreated samples, the pretreated samples allowed for the extraction of more xylan from the biomass at lower temperatures in the range between 140°C to 150°C. Recovered extracted xylose from the pretreated chips at 150°C ranged from 24.6% to 60.5% based on the original xylose content in biomass. At the same temperature and conditions hot water extraction without fungal pretreatment allowed for the recovery of 23.2% of the xylose component.; This is the first study on the effects of fungal pretreatment on Willow Biomass. It is also the first time a fungal pretreatment has been performed on a sample that is inclusive of the bark component. It was apparent from this study that the bark impedes the ability to make precise predictions of the effect of fungal pretreatment on xylose recovery.