Synergistic effects of pH and organosolv lignin addition on the enzymatic hydrolysis of organosolv-pretreated loblolly pine

The effect of ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) on enzymatic hydrolysis was examined at pH 4.8-6.0. The addition of EOL prepared from sweetgum enhanced the enzymatic hydrolysis of organosolv-pretreated loblolly pine (OPLP) by 38.8% and 88.0% at pH 4.8 and 5.6, respectively. The addition of EOL prepared from loblolly pine inhibited the enzymatic hydrolysis of OPLP at pH 4.8 but improved it by 43.0% at pH 5.6. This suggests that the addition of EOL and increase in pH act synergistically to improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of OPLP. The effect of EOL addition on cellulase adsorption onto residual lignins was examined. The results revealed that increasing the pH intensified the suppression of non-productive binding between enzymes and residual lignins by EOL. The potential stabilization effects of EOL on enzymes can contribute to the improvement of enzymatic hydrolysis with EOL at higher pH.