Green production of low-molecular-weight xylooligosaccharides from oil palm empty fruit bunch via integrated enzymatic polymerization and membrane separation for purification

For xylooligosaccharides (XOS) production from agricultural residues, highly concentrated xylan liquor (116 g/L) was produced by crushing an oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) via continuous hydrothermal treatment and subsequent membrane-based concentration on a pilot scale. The yield of xylan extracted from the raw EFB was 53.7%. To produce XOS with a low degree of polymerization, xylanase-catalyzed hydrolysis was performed and the sum of xylobiose and xylotriose to extracted xylan was 81.6% under lab-scale optimal conditions and 69.3% under pilot-scale conditions. In addition, the crude XOS could be purified through a novel approach involving enzyme-mediated radical polymerization and membrane-based separation, while minimizing XOS loss and waste generation. As a result, 50.2% of the total phenolic compounds in the crude XOS material could be polymerized and precipitated through peroxidase-catalyzed reactions, and an additional 22.6% were removed using the membrane. Furthermore, the amount of activated carbon consumed and the XOS recovery rate after phenolic compound removal via the adsorption method using activated carbon were evaluated and compared with the integrated enzyme-membrane purification results. Consequently, this study provides an ecofriendly biomass refinery process for low-molecular-weight XOS production and purification that produces few toxic substances and little waste.