Lignocellulosic treatments and applications thereof

Abstract

In one aspect, methods of treating lignocellulosic materials are described herein. In some embodiments, a method of treating a lignocellulosic material comprises degrading lignin of the lignocellulosic material with at least one fungus and hydrolyzing cellulose of the lignocellulosic material with at least one microorganism.

1 . A method of producing ethanol comprising:
 providing a lignocellulosic material;   degrading lignin of the lignocellulosic material with at least one fungus;   hydrolyzing cellulose of the lignocellulosic material with at least one microorganism;   further hydrolyzing the cellulose with one or more cellulase enzymes into one or more fermentable sugars; and   fermenting the one or more sugars to produce ethanol.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fermentable sugars comprise a hexose, pentose or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentable sugars are monomeric sugars. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fungus comprises a white rot fungus. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fungus comprises a plurality of fungi. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of fungi comprise white rot fungi. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lignin is selectively degraded with the at least one fungus. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one fungus is a white rot fungus. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one microorganism comprises a brown rot fungus. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the white rot fungus comprises  Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, Phlebia tremellosa, Scytinostroma galactinium , or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one microorganism comprises a brown rot fungus. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the microorganism comprises a plurality of fungi. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the fungi comprises brown rot fungi. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the microorganism comprises one or more bacteria. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least 5 weight percent of the lignin is degraded. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least 10 weight percent of the lignin is degraded. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the average chain length of the hydrolyzed cellulose is less than about 1000 monomer sugar units. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the average chain length of the hydrolyzed cellulose ranges from about 100 to about 400 monomer sugar units. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fungus is applied to the lignocellulosic material prior to application of the at least one microorganism. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising sterilizing the lignocellulosic material prior to application of the microorganism.