Improved sugar yield upon steam explosion and enzymatic saccharification of field-grown poplar downregulated for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1

Geerts, Jordi; Croes, Tim; Leemans, Paulien Geertje Corlijn; Richel, Aurore; Besserer, Arnaud; Brosse, Nicolas; De Meester, Barbara; Boerjan, Wout; Cornet, Iris

doi:10.18331/brj2026.13.2.4

Article (Scientific journals)

Improved sugar yield upon steam explosion and enzymatic saccharification of field-grown poplar downregulated for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1

Geerts, Jordi; Croes, Tim; Leemans, Paulien Geertje Corlijn et al.

2026 • In Biofuel Research Journal, 13 (02), p. 2698-2710

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/345834

DOI
10.18331/brj2026.13.2.4

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Keywords :

Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase; Lignin engineering; Steam explosion; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Lignocellulose

Abstract :

[en] Genetic modification of lignocellulosic biomass can enhance its processability by reducing its recalcitrance to pretreatment and enzymatic conversion to chemicals such as biofuels. Downregulation of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (CAD1) in poplar results in the increased incorporation of sinapaldehyde in the lignin polymer. Here, we investigated steam explosion as a pretreatment strategy for the enzymatic hydrolysis of field-grown CAD1-downregulated and wild-type (WT) poplar. Steam explosion at 210°C for 90 s resulted in a significantly higher lignin reduction of 25% for CAD wood, compared to 15% for WT wood. Under limited conditions at 8.4% solid loading and 8 filter paper units of Cellic Ctec3 HS per gram dry weight, enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in a significantly higher average glucose yield of 76% for CAD wood compared to 60% for WT wood. Our data show that steam explosion pretreatment of CAD1-modified poplar is a promising strategy to improve enzymatic hydrolysis without the need for additional chemicals.

Disciplines :

Chemistry

Author, co-author :

Geerts, Jordi

Croes, Tim

Leemans, Paulien Geertje Corlijn

Richel, Aurore ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Chemistry for Sustainable Food and Environmental Systems (CSFES)

Besserer, Arnaud

Brosse, Nicolas

De Meester, Barbara

Boerjan, Wout

Cornet, Iris

Language :

English

Title :

Improved sugar yield upon steam explosion and enzymatic saccharification of field-grown poplar downregulated for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 1

Publication date :

01 June 2026

Journal title :

Biofuel Research Journal

eISSN :

2292-8782

Publisher :

Alpha Creation Enterprise

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

2698-2710

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

7. Affordable and clean energy
12. Responsible consumption and production

Funders :

SPF Economie - Service Public Fédéral Économie, PME, Classes moyennes et Énergie

Funding number :

Fonds de Transition Energétique

Available on ORBi :

since 08 June 2026

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