Xylitol production from lignocellulosics: Are corn biomass residues good candidates?

Pentosan-rich fractions of biomass materials have potential for production of value-added product, xylitol. Xylitol is widely used as a sugar substitute in food industry but it is also a building block for a variety of commodity chemicals. Xylitol is one of top 12 high value-added intermediate chemicals that can be produced from biomass. Present study evaluated corn biomass residues (corn stover, husk, and cob) and corn bran as alternative raw materials for xylitol production. The productions were performed by chemical and thermochemical routes that were based on releasing of xylose sugar from the materials and then reduction of the hydrolysates for xylitol formation. The results showed that the use of isolated hemicellulose fraction versus biomass material itself as starting material produced more concentrated xylitol with fewer amounts of byproducts. Corn bran is the best alternative raw material to produce xylitol compared to corn stover, husk and cob. The yield of xylitol was observed to be higher in chemical method in the conditions studied.