Identification and quantitation of degradation products in corn stover hydrolyzate for the biofuels industry

Biomass, such as corn stover can be converted to ethanol to replace fossil fuels, but enzymatic hydrolysis limits the amount produced. Corn stover hydrolyzate contains a variety of degradation products, including aliphatic and aromatic acids, aromatic aldehydes and phenols, which can inhibit microbial processes and reduce the bioconversion of cellulosic material to ethanol. Currently, 9 phenolic acids are monitored by HPLC-UV, but many more aliphatic acids are relevant, but do not contain chromophores.