Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid includes concentrating an aqueous cellulose-derived sugar solution with a nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane, wherein the concentration is carried out after adding a water-soluble anionic polymer to the aqueous cellulose-derived sugar solution to remove a fermentation inhibitor(s) into a permeate side of the nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar solution includes a pretreatment step of treating cellulosic biomass with a treatment agent containing ammonia to obtain an ammonia-treated product, an ammonia-treated sugar solution preparation step of enzymatically saccharifying the ammonia-treated product to obtain an ammonia-treated sugar solution, and a purified sugar solution preparation step of removing coumaramide and/or ferulamide in the ammonia-treated sugar solution by purification to obtain a purified sugar solution having a concentration of coumaramide and/or ferulamide of 10 to 1,100 ppm.

Abstract: A sugar solution production apparatus includes a saccharification tank that obtains a saccharified solution containing a solid substance from a cellulose-containing biomass, a solid-liquid separator that separates the solid substance from the saccharified solution to obtain a sugar solution, an enzyme recovery solution tank that stores an enzyme recovery solution, a sugar solution extraction line that extracts the sugar solution from the solid-liquid separator, a warm water supply unit that supplies warm water to the solid-liquid separator, an enzyme recovery solution supply line that supplies the enzyme recovery solution from the enzyme recovery solution tank to the solid-liquid separator, an enzyme recovery solution recovery line that feeds the enzyme recovery solution containing the saccharifying enzyme recovered from the solid substance to the enzyme recovery solution tank, and an enzyme recovery solution return line that returns the enzyme recovery solution to the saccharification tank.

Abstract: A method produces a concentrated aqueous sugar solution using a cellulose-containing biomass as a raw material, including: (1) hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass to produce an aqueous sugar solution; (2) filtering the aqueous sugar solution obtained in (1) through a microfiltration membrane and/or an ultrafiltration membrane, and recovering an aqueous sugar solution from the permeate side; and (3) filtering the aqueous sugar solution obtained in (2) through a nanofiltration membrane and/or a reverse osmosis membrane, recovering a permeate from the permeate side and recovering a concentrated aqueous sugar solution from the feed side; wherein at least a part of the permeate from the nanofiltration membrane and/or the reverse osmosis membrane is used as a washing liquid in (1) and/or (2).

Abstract: A method of producing cellulase includes steps (1) to (3): (1) subjecting an aqueous solution of cellulase derived from filamentaous fungi to filtration through an ultrafiltration membrane with a molecular weight cut off of 100,000 to 200,000 to obtain a filtrate and concurrently obtain a concentrated enzyme liquid as a retentate; (2) further subjecting the filtrate obtained in step (1) to filtration through a second ultrafiltration membrane with a molecular weight cut off of 5,000 to 50,000 to obtain a second concentrated enzyme liquid as a retentate; and (3) mixing the concentrated enzyme liquid obtained in steps (1) and (2) to obtain cellulase derived from filamentaous fungi.

Abstract: A method of producing a sugar liquid using a cellulose-containing biomass as a raw material includes (a) hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass to produce an aqueous sugar solution and (b) filtering the obtained aqueous sugar solution through a reverse osmosis membrane to collect a purified sugar liquid from a feed side, while removing fermentation-inhibiting substances from a permeate side.

Abstract: A sugar liquid containing only very small amounts of fermentation-inhibiting substances is produced by a method for producing a sugar liquid using a cellulose-containing biomass as a raw material, the method including: (1) a step of hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass to produce an aqueous sugar solution; and (2) a step of filtering the obtained aqueous sugar solution through a nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane to collect a purified sugar liquid from the feed side, while removing fermentation-inhibiting substances from the permeate side.

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: 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 filter aid includes: (A) obtaining a pretreated biomass by pulverization treatment and/or thermochemical treatment of a cellulose-containing biomass; (B) treating the pretreated biomass obtained in (A) with cellulase to obtain a cellulase-treated product; and (C) obtaining a solid content of the cellulase-treated product of (B).

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 hydrolyzing with a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase a product obtained by adding a water-soluble inorganic salt(s) to a pretreated product of cellulose to a final concentration of 5 to 35 g/L; and subjecting the hydrolysate 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 method of producing a sugar liquid includes concentrating an aqueous cellulose-derived sugar solution with a nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane, wherein the concentration is carried out after adding a water-soluble anionic polymer to the aqueous cellulose-derived sugar solution to remove a fermentation inhibitor(s) into a permeate side of the nanofiltration membrane and/or reverse osmosis membrane.

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: There is provided an apparatus for treating a biomass feedstock at a high temperature, including: a cooling means for cooling a biomass liquid treated at a high temperature; an enzymatic saccharification tank for subjecting a cooled treated liquid to saccharification with an enzyme; a solid-liquid separation apparatus for removing water-slightly soluble fermentation inhibitory substances contained in the saccharide solution taken out from the enzymatic saccharification tank and a foreign substance removing unit provided with a microfiltlation (MF) membrane 113a; a dilution tank, disposed downstream of the foreign substance removing unit, for adding water thereto so as to dilute the saccharide solution; a water separation unit, provided with a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, for removing water from the diluted saccharide solution to obtain concentrated saccharide solution; and a fermentation tank for fermenting the concentrated saccharide solution.

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 ultrafiltration membranes, nanofiltration membranes and reverse osmosis membranes, and washing the separation membrane(s) after filtration with warm water at a temperature of not less than 50° C.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus for treating a biomass feedstock at a high temperature, including a cooling means for cooling a biomass treated liquid at a high temperature; an enzymatic saccharification tank for saccharifying a cooled treated liquid with an enzyme; a solid-liquid separation apparatus for removing water-slightly soluble substances contained in a saccharide solution taken out from the enzymatic saccharification tank and a foreign substance removing unit provided with a microfiltlation (MF) membrane; a dilution tank, disposed downstream of the foreign substance removing unit, for diluting the saccharide solution from which the water-slightly soluble substances are removed by adding water thereto; a water separation unit, provided with a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, for removing water from the diluted saccharide solution so as to obtain concentrated saccharide solution.

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 produces a concentrated aqueous sugar solution using a cellulose-containing biomass as a raw material, including: (1) hydrolyzing a cellulose-containing biomass to produce an aqueous sugar solution; (2) filtering the aqueous sugar solution obtained in (1) through a microfiltration membrane and/or an ultrafiltration membrane, and recovering an aqueous sugar solution from the permeate side; and (3) filtering the aqueous sugar solution obtained in (2) through a reverse osmosis membrane, recovering a permeate from the permeate side and recovering a concentrated aqueous sugar solution from the feed side; wherein at least a part of the permeate from the reverse osmosis membrane is used as a hydrothermal treatment liquid, biomass-suspending, liquid, enzyme-diluting liquid, acid-diluting liquid and/or alkali-diluting liquid in (1).

Abstract: A method produces a sugar liquid by repeating a sugar liquid production process including (1) to (3): (1) adding a filamentous fungus-derived cellulase to cellulose to perform primary hydrolysis; (2) adding a fresh filamentous fungus-derived cellulase to the hydrolysate in Step (1) to perform secondary hydrolysis; and (3) subjecting the hydrolysate in Step (2) to solid-liquid separation to obtain a sugar liquid, from which a recovered enzyme is obtained; wherein the recovered enzyme obtained in Step (3) is used for Step (1) of the next and later sugar liquid production processes.