Adsorption of fermentation inhibitors from lignocellulosic biomass hydrolyzates for improved ethanol yield and value-added product recovery

It is shown that certain zeolites can selectively adsorb representative fermentation inhibitors (5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), furfural and vanillin) from biomass hydrolyzates with minimal loss of sugars improving significantly the ethanol yield of the fermentation process. The potential for recovering the inhibitors for further use as industrially valuable compounds by preferential adsorption on appropriately chosen zeolites is also demonstrated.