Acid Hydrolysis and Enzymatic Digestion of Biomass

In addition to harboring valuable materials, AMD contains inherent acidity that presents unique opportunities for value creation within the A2V framework. Our approach capitalizes on this acidity by leveraging it to pre-treat biomass, facilitating the hydrolysis of biomass components for more accessible cellulose breakdown. This preparatory step could significantly lower the costs associated with enzymatic digestion processes – required to convert biomass into usable sugars. We target grass biomass, commonly co-located in AMD producing regions.

We also employ the acidic properties of AMD to process waste basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag, an alkaline-rich byproduct from the steel industry. This application not only neutralizes the AMD in a more cost-effective manner, compared to traditional lime treatments, but also has potential to stabilize the slag, thus eliminating its volume instability and rendering it suitable for construction use.

While some aspects of this research are ongoing, key methodologies have been validated through rigorous lab-scale and pilot-scale testing.