Handbook of Food Bioengineering, Volume II: Food Bioconversion

VALLEJOS, M.E.; AREA, M.C.

Xylitol as bio-product from the agro and forest biorefinery

Elsevier Inc., Academic Press

Lugar: London; Año: 2017; p. 411 - 432

Hemicellulosesfrom hardwoods, canes, and grasses are mainly xylans which can be depolymerizedinto xylose as primary carbon source for the bioproduction of xylitol. Xylitolis used as sweetening agent, and it can also be an important platform forsustainable bioproducts. A key point in xylitol production is the availabilityof xylose solutions at low cost, which would facilitate the emergence of newmarkets and applications. Xylitol can be industrially produced by thefermentation of xylose extracted from hemicelluloses as an alternative to theexpensive chemical process. In this context, wastes of agro- and forest-industries are interesting alternatives. The production cost of xylitol on anindustrial scale also depends on the technologies used for xylose conversionand those for its recovery and purification. Improvements in biomass treatment,detoxification and fermentation processes are needed to make xylitol productioncost-effective, opening new markets and creating new applications for it. Theaim of this chapter is to discuss several strategies for the extraction of thexylose from biomass, the detoxification of the hydrolyzed to obtain xylosesyrup to a relatively low cost, the critical factors for the fermentation ofxylose to xylitol, and the recovery of xylitol from fermentation broths.