Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid from biomass includes decomposing a fermentation inhibitor contained in a sugar aqueous solution obtained from biomass with a microorganism incapable of utilizing glucose and/or xylose or a crude enzyme derived from the microorganism, wherein the fermentation inhibitor includes one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of courmaric acid, coumaramide, ferulic acid, ferulamide, vanillin, vanillic acid, acetovanillone, furfural, and 3-hydroxymethylfurfural.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing a sugar liquid includes a stirring tank for primary hydrolysis; a solid-liquid separation device; a secondary hydrolysis tank or press filtration device for secondary hydrolysis; a solid-liquid separation device(s) for the primary hydrolysate and secondary hydrolysate; and an ultrafiltration membrane device that separates the carbohydrase and the sugar liquid from the primary sugar liquid and/or the secondary sugar liquid.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar solution includes (1) to (3): (1) preparing a slurry of a cellulose-containing biomass pretreated material and an inactivated cellulose, (2) hydrolyzing the slurry in (1) by adding a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase to the slurry, and (3) separating a hydrolysate in (2) into a solution component and a hydrolysis residue through solid-liquid separation, and filtering the solution component through an ultrafiltration membrane, thereby recovering the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase as a non-filtrate and the sugar solution as a filtrate.

Abstract: A method of producing sugar solution by repeating a sugar solution production process includes steps (1) to (3), wherein a wash solution obtained in step (4) of washing a separation membrane after step (3) is used for step (1) of subsequent sugar solution production processes: step (1): preparing slurry of pretreated cellulose-containing biomass; step (2): hydrolyzing the slurry of pretreated cellulose-containing biomass in step (1) using cellulase from filamentous fungi; and step (3): subjecting the hydrolyzate of step (2) to solid-liquid separation into a solution component and a hydrolysis residue, filtering the solution component through an ultrafiltration membrane and recovering the cellulase from filamentous fungi as a non-permeate, and recovering the sugar solution as a permeate.

Abstract: A method produces a sugar liquid by adding a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase to a pretreated product of cellulose to obtain a hydrolysate; adding waste molasses to said hydrolysate to obtain a mixed sugar liquid; and subjecting said mixed sugar liquid to solid-liquid separation and filtering the obtained solution component through an ultrafiltration membrane, to recover the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase as a non-permeate and to obtain a sugar liquid as a permeate.

Abstract: A device that produces a sugar solution from cellulose-containing biomass includes: a horizontal reaction tank that includes a stirring shaft provided along a horizontal direction in the horizontal reaction tank and a stirring blade provided to the stirring shaft, the horizontal reaction tank being configured to obtain a saccharified slurry by reacting the cellulose-containing biomass with a saccharification enzyme by stirring the cellulose-containing biomass and the saccharification enzyme; a vertical reaction tank configured to obtain a saccharified liquid by saccharifying the saccharified slurry; a saccharified slurry feed line that connects the horizontal reaction tank and the vertical reaction tank; and a warming part provided around the horizontal reaction tank or on a wall surface of the horizontal reaction tank and heats the horizontal reaction tank.

Abstract: Endoglucanase characterized by a decreased degree of activity inhibition by a lignin-derived aromatic compound, and prepared by substituting tryptophan at position 273 in the amino acid sequence of wild-type thermophilic bacterium-derived endoglucanase with an amino acid other than aromatic amino acids.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid with a cellulose-containing biomass as a raw material includes (1) hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass to produce an aqueous sugar solution, and (2) filtering the aqueous sugar solution obtain in (1) through an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight cutoff of 600 to 2,000 to remove a fermentation inhibitor(s) into the permeate side and collect a sugar liquid from the feed side.

Abstract: A method of producing a compound originating from a polysaccharide-based biomass includes at least one of a saccharification step that produces a sugar solution containing a monosaccharide and/or an oligosaccharide from a product obtainable by hydrolyzing the polysaccharide-based biomass; a fermentation step that ferments the sugar solution containing the monosaccharide and/or oligosaccharide originating from the polysaccharide-based biomass; and a treatment that removes a fermentation inhibitor with the use of a separation membrane having a glucose removal rate and an isopropyl alcohol removal rate which simultaneously satisfy the following relationships (I) and (II) when a 500 ppm aqueous glucose solution at pH 6.5 at 25° C. and a 500 ppm aqueous isopropyl alcohol solution at pH 6.5 at 25° C. are respectively permeated through the membrane at an operation pressure of 0.

Abstract: A method of hydrolysis of cellulose uses a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase as a carbohydrase and includes adding the carbohydrase to cellulose to perform primary hydrolysis and then subjecting the primary hydrolysate to solid-liquid separation into a primary sugar liquid and solids; adding water to the solids and performing secondary hydrolysis, followed by subjecting the secondary hydrolysate to solid-liquid separation into a secondary sugar liquid and a residue; and filtering the primary sugar liquid and/or secondary sugar liquid through an ultrafiltration membrane, and recovering the carbohydrase from the feed side and recovering a sugar solution from the permeate side.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing coumaramide includes treating cellulose-based biomass with an ammonia-containing treatment agent to obtain ammonia-treated biomass, immersing the ammonia-treated biomass into a solvent containing at least water and eluting coumaramide in the ammonia-treated biomass into the solvent to obtain a coumaramide solution, and precipitating coumaramide in the coumaramide solution as a crystal to obtain a coumaramide crystal.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid includes filtering a cellulose-derived sugar liquid through one or more separation membranes selected from the group consisting of an ultrafiltration membrane, a nanofiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane and washing the separation membrane(s) after filtration with washing water containing an alkaline substance and an aromatic compound at 10° C. or more and less than 50° C.

Abstract: A ?-glucosidase exhibits high activity in the presence of biomass and has high thermal stability compared to conventional enzymes. The ?-glucosidase includes substitutions and/or deletions of amino acids, at least three amino acids selected from the group consisting of Glu39, Asp169, Arg170, Arg220, Tyr227, and Glu330, of the parent ?-glucosidase with other amino acids and exhibits a decomposition activity.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid includes filtering a cellulose-derived sugar liquid through one or more separation membranes selected from the group consisting of an ultrafiltration membrane, a nanofiltration membrane and a reverse osmosis membrane, and washing the separation membrane(s) after filtration with washing water containing an acidic substance and an aromatic compound.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid from a cellulose-containing biomass includes (1) hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass using a filamentous fungus-derived cellulose and carrying out solid-liquid separation into a sugar liquid and a hydrolysis residue; (2) washing the hydrolysis residue in (1) using an aqueous alkaline solution and an aqueous inorganic salt solution independently and recovering, as a washing liquid, the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase adsorbed to the hydrolysis residue; and (3) filtering the washing liquid in (2) through an ultrafiltration membrane to recover a sugar liquid as a permeate and the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase as a non-permeate.

Abstract: A method produces a sugar liquid from a cellulosic biomass material, which sugar liquid has improved fermentability. The method produces a sugar liquid by: adding an alkali(s) to a concentrated cellulosic biomass sugar liquid to adjust the pH to not less than 7 to precipitate an insoluble substance(s) containing at least magnesium; and performing filtration through a microfiltration membrane to remove the insoluble substance(s), to obtain a sugar liquid as a permeate.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid from cellulose-containing biomass includes (1) to (4): (1) subjecting a cellulose-containing biomass to a dilute sulfuric acid treatment and thereafter separating the treated cellulose-containing biomass into a dilute sulfuric acid-treated liquid and a cellulose-containing solid content; (2) adding a cellulase to the cellulose-containing solid content to hydrolyze the cellulose and thereafter obtaining a sugar liquid; (3) filtering the dilute sulfuric acid-treated liquid through a nanofiltration membrane at pH 2.5 or lower to thereby separate a sugar concentrated liquid as a retentate and at the same time recover a sulfuric acid aqueous solution as a permeate; and (4) reusing the whole amount or a part of the sulfuric acid aqueous solution obtained in (3) in the dilute sulfuric acid treatment in (1).

Abstract: A method for producing a mutant glucosidase includes introducing DNA encoding a secretion signal sequence and DNA encoding Asn-X-Ser or Asn-X-Thr into DNA encoding a glucosidase derived from a thermophile, and introducing the resulting DNA into a eukaryotic microorganism and expressing it as a secretory protein. An enzyme composition contains the mutant glucosidase.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid from cellulose-containing biomass includes (1) to (3): (1): subjecting a cellulose-containing biomass to hydrothermal treatment and thereafter separating the treated cellulose-containing biomass into a hydrothermally-treated liquid and a cellulose-containing solid content; (2): adding a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase to the cellulose-containing solid content obtained in (1) to hydrolyze the cellulose and thereafter separating the hydrolysate into a saccharification residue and a sugar liquid; and (3): washing the saccharification residue obtained in (2) with the hydrothermally-treated liquid obtained in (1) to elute the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase adsorbed to the saccharification residue into the hydrothermally-treated liquid and thereafter obtaining a solution component comprising the filamentous fungus-derived cellulase by solid-liquid separation.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid includes filtering a sugar liquid through a nanofiltration membrane and collecting a sugar liquid from the feed side, wherein a sugar liquid containing an organic liquid compound having a relative dielectric constant of not less than 17 at 25° C. is filtered through the nanofiltration membrane.