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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294901
Title: A simplified method for monomeric carbohydrate analysis of corn stover biomass

Author
item MOURTZINIS, SPYRIDON - Auburn University
item ARRIAGA, FRANCISCO - University Of Wisconsin
item BRANSBY, DAVID - Auburn University
item Balkcom, Kipling

Submitted to: Global Change Biology Bioenergy
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2014
Publication Date: 4/12/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62403
Citation: Mourtzinis, S., Arriaga, F., Bransby, D., Balkcom, K.S. 2014. A simplified method for monomeric carbohydrate analysis of corn stover biomass. Global Change Biology Bioenergy. 6:300-304. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12140

Interpretive Summary: Constituent determination of biomass for theoretical ethanol yield (TEY) estimation requires the removal of non-structural carbohydrates prior to analysis to prevent interference with the analytical procedure. The U.S. Department of Energy-National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recommends a two-stage process for analysis of cellulosic biomass composition. However, the first stage of this process is time consuming and costly. An older procedure which was developed for quantifying cell wall constituents for ruminant nutrition research uses a neutral detergent fiber (NDF) to quantify the insoluble components of biomass by quickly extracting the soluble fraction. The older procedure should be quicker and cheaper, but the reliability of this method for predicting TEY has not been tested. Average TEY per unit area between methods varied only by 1.9% suggesting that the older procedure could be used as an alternative to the current two-stage process used to estimate TEY. This can be of value when time and cost are a constraint. Identifying an alternative method that is faster and just as accurate as the current method will be more cost effective for research and industry personnel estimating future ethanol yields.

Technical Abstract: Constituent determination of biomass for theoretical ethanol yield (TEY) estimation requires the removal of non-structural carbohydrates prior to analysis to prevent interference with the analytical procedure. According to the accepted U.S. Dept. of Energy-National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) method, biomass extractives in corn stover should be removed by a two-step extraction process. Alternatively, Neutral Detergent Fiber method (NDF) is a fast and cost-effective method used to determine structural carbohydrates of forage biomass. The objective of this work was to determine whether the NDF method can be used as an alternative to the NREL extraction procedure for corn (Zea mays L.) stover biomass. Arabinan content varied between the two methods. However, glucan, xylan, and TEYs were not statistically different. Furthermore, the average TEYs per unit of mass and unit of area varied by 2.0 and 1.9%, respectively. Additionally, the proposed method was faster and less expensive than the NREL procedure.