Corn fiber for the production of advanced chemicals and materials: derivatizable cellulose and cellulose derivatives made therefrom

US6586212B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Eastman Chemical Company · US

Inventors

• Charles Michael Buchanan · Kingsport, US
• Norma Lindsey Buchanan · Elizabethton, US
• John Debenham · Kingsport, US
• Michael Charles Shelton · Kingsport, US
• Matthew Davie Wood · Jonesborough, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 10, 2000
• Grant date: Jul 1, 2003
• Expiry date: Feb 10, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02W30/74
• WIPO field: Food chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention provides a method of obtaining a cellulose material from corn fiber wherein the method comprises the steps of: (a) heating a mixture of corn fiber and a liquid; (b) contacting the mixture of step (a) with a protease enzyme, thereby providing a proteolyzed corn fiber and a liquid; (c) separating the liquid from the proteolyzed corn fiber; (d) contacting the proteolyzed corn fiber at least once with an alkaline extractant, thereby providing an insoluble cellulose material and a first liquid comprising arabinoxylan; (e) separating the insoluble cellulose material from the first liquid comprising arabinoxylan at a temperature of at or above about 60° C.; and (f) rinsing the insoluble cellulose material to remove essentially all alkali, thereby providing a cellulose material having a cellulose content of at least about 50% and consisting essentially of cellulose I. Cellulose esters and ethers are also prepared from the derivatizable cellulose prepared according to the methods herein.