Hydrolyzability of xylan after adsorption on cellulose: Exploration of xylan limitation on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose

During pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials, the dissolved xylan would re-adsorb on cellulose, and then inhibits the cellulose hydrolysis by cellulases. However, the hydrolyzability of xylan adsorbed on cellulose is not clear. In this work, the adsorption behavior of xylans on celluloses and the hydrolysis of adsorbed xylan by xylanase (XYL) were investigated. The results indicated that the adsorption of beechwood xylan (BWX) and oat spelt xylan (OSX) on Avicel was conformed to Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm. Higher ion strength increased the adsorption of BWX on Avicel, but not that of OSX. Both BWX and OSX adsorbed on Avicel and corn stover after dilute acid pretreatment (CS-DA) could be hydrolyzed by XYL. Compared to OSX, BWX adsorbed on cellulosic materials could be more easily hydrolyzed by XYL. Thus, supplementation of XYL could hydrolyze the xylan adsorbed on cellulose and potentially improved hydrolysis efficiency of lignocelluloses.