An integrated process for the coproduction of xylooligosaccharides and Bacillus subtilis biomass from poplar

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and Bacillus subtilis biomass, also regarded as essential prebiotics, have a wide application prospect in feed industry. However, very few studies have reported the coproduction of XOS and Bacillus subtilis from lignocellulosic materials. A XOS yield of 28.8% could be produced from poplar through acetic acid (AC) hydrolysis at 170 degrees C for 30 min. After the delignification of the AC-hydrolyzed poplar by hydrogen peroxide/AC (HPAC) solution, 101.7 g/L glucose and 20.7 g/L xylose were released from the HPAC-pretreated poplar by cellulase hydrolysis, which was used as a carbon source to culture B. subtilis YS01. The results showed that after 36 h of culture, the viable count of the strain was 6.2 x 108 CFU/mL, which was close to the viable count (7.1 x 108 CFU/mL) of the strain cultured using glucose solution as the sole carbon source. The strain B. subtilis YS01 completely metabolized the glucose and xylose. Overall, the results of the study proposed a promising strategy to efficiently produce XOS and B. subtilis YS01 from poplar, which could be used in feed industry.