Bioconversion of cellulose and hemicellulose in reed sawdust to xylo-oligosaccharides and L-lactic acid

Much of the carbohydrate-rich reed sawdust (RS) produced from the reed pulping mills is burned or buried, causing a waste of resources. The aim of this work is to effectively bio-convert cellulose and hemicellulose of RS to L -lactic acid and xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) after liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment . The experiments were carried out via separation hydrolysis fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification fermentation (SSF) by optimizing the culture and fermentation conditions of a probiotics compound composed of a consortium of lactic acid bacteria . In the end, functional feed additives containing 69.33 wt% L -lactic acid and 26.82 wt% XOS can easily be obtained without additional handling by SSF configuration at 40 ℃ for 82 h with the initial fermentation pH 7.0. The conversion rate of glucose to L -lactic acid reached 72.33%. The bioconversion of available portion in RS into XOS and L -lactic acid paves a new way for high-value utilization of reed residue resources. • Reed sawdust (RS) was pretreated by liquid hot water without any chemical reagents. • Feed additive containing xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and L -lactic acid was produced from RS. • 1.96 g/L XOS and 8.86 g/L L -lactic acid were obtained by bioconversion of RS. • Conversion rate of glucose into L -lactic acid in RS reached 72.33%.