Process development of short-chain polyols synthesis from corn stover by combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and catalytic hydrogenolysis

• A novel process for short-chain polyols production from corn stover was developed.
• Purification by decolorization and desalting worked well for stover sugars.
• Hydrogenolysis of stover sugars to polyols was competitive to corn-based polyols.

Currently short-chain polyols such as ethanediol, propanediol, and butanediol are produced either from the petroleum feedstock or from the starch-based food crop feedstock. In this study, a combinational process of enzymatic hydrolysis with catalytic hydrogenolysis for short-chain polyols production using corn stover as feedstock was developed. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated corn stover was optimized to produce stover sugars at the minimum cost. Then the stover sugars were purified and hydrogenolyzed into polyols products catalyzed by Raney nickel catalyst. The results show that the yield of short-chain polyols from the stover sugars was comparable to that of the corn-based glucose. The present study provided an important prototype for polyols production from lignocellulose to replace the petroleum- or corn-based polyols for future industrial applications.

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