Integral Analysis of Liquid-Hot-Water Pretreatment of Wheat Straw: Evaluation of the Production of Sugars, Degradation Products, and Lignin

Developing sustainable biorefineries is an urgent matter to support the transition to a sustainable society. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a crucial renewable feedstock for this purpose, and its complete valorization is essential for the sustainability of biorefineries. However, it is improbable that a single pretreatment will extract both sugars and lignin from LCB. Therefore, a combination of pretreatments must be applied. Liquid-hot-water (LHW) is highlighted as a pretreatment for hemicellulose hydrolysis, conventionally analyzed only in terms of sugars and degradation products. However, lignin is also hydrolyzed in the process. The objective of this work was to evaluate LHW at different conditions for sugars, degradation products, and lignin. We performed LHW at 160, 180, and 200 °C for 30, 60, and 90 min using wheat straw and characterized the extract for sugars, degradation products (furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, and acetic acid), and lignin. Three conditions allowed reaching similar total sugar concentrations (~12 g/L): 160 °C for 90 min, 180 °C for 30 min, and 180 °C for 60 min. Among these, LHW performed at 160 °C for 90 min allowed the lowest concentration of degradation products (0.2, 0.01, and 1.4 g/L for furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, and acetic acid, respectively) and lignin hydrolysis (2.2 g/L). These values indicate the potential use of the obtained sugars as a fermentation substrate while leaving the lignin in the solid phase for a following stage focused on its extraction and valorization.

Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass at Lab and Pilot Scale

Liquid hot water pretreatment is considered to be a promising method for increasing biomass digestibility due to the moderate operational conditions without chemical additions. A necessary step towards the scalability of this pretreatment process is performing pilot plant trials. Upscaling was evaluated with a scaling factor of 500, by using 50 mL in the laboratory and 25 L in a pilot plant batch reactor. Pretreatment times were varied from 30 to 240 min, and temperatures used were 180–188 °C, while applying similar heating profiles at both scales. The initial mass fraction of poplar wood chips ranged from 10% to 16%. Liquid hot water pretreatment at laboratory and pilot scale led to analogous results. The acetic acid analysis of the liquid and solid fractions obtained after pretreatment indicated that complete deacetylation of poplar biomass can be achieved.

Evaluating polymer interplay after hot water pretreatment to investigate maize stem internode recalcitrance

Background Biomass recalcitrance is governed by various molecular and structural factors but the interplay between these multiscale factors remains unclear. In this study, hot water pretreatment (HWP) was applied to maize stem internodes to highlight the impact of the ultrastructure of the polymers and their interactions on the accessibility and recalcitrance of the lignocellulosic biomass. The impact of HWP was analysed at different scales, from the polymer ultrastructure or water mobility to the cell wall organisation by combining complementary compositional, spectral and NMR analyses. Results HWP increased the kinetics and yield of saccharification. Chemical characterisation showed that HWP altered cell wall composition with a loss of hemicelluloses (up to 45% in the 40-min HWP) and of ferulic acid cross-linking associated with lignin enrichment. The lignin structure was also altered (up to 35% reduction in β–O–4 bonds), associated with slight depolymerisation/repolymerisation depending on the length of treatment. The increase in $${T}_{1\rho }^{H}$$ T 1 ρ H , $${T}_{HH}$$ T HH and specific surface area (SSA) showed that the cellulose environment was looser after pretreatment. These changes were linked to the increased accessibility of more constrained water to the cellulose in the 5–15 nm pore size range. Conclusion The loss of hemicelluloses and changes in polymer structural features caused by HWP led to reorganisation of the lignocellulose matrix. These modifications increased the SSA and redistributed the water thereby increasing the accessibility of cellulases and enhancing hydrolysis. Interestingly, lignin content did not have a negative impact on enzymatic hydrolysis but a higher lignin condensed state appeared to promote saccharification. The environment and organisation of lignin is thus more important than its concentration in explaining cellulose accessibility. Elucidating the interactions between polymers is the key to understanding LB recalcitrance and to identifying the best severity conditions to optimise HWP in sustainable biorefineries.

Enhanced cellulose efficiency of pressurized hot water pretreated highland Ethiopian bamboo (Yushania alpina): A potential feedstock for ethanol production

For the production of ethanol from pretreated lignocellulose biomass play a paramount role in facilitating the conversion of cellulose into glucose in the hydrolysis step. Therefore, this study is focused on the effect of hot water pretreatment on the chemical composition (cellulose and lignin) of highland bamboo of Ethiopia. The chemical composition of highland bamboo showed 46.76% (w/w) cellulose, 25.27% (w/w) lignin, 12.18% (w/w) hemicellulose, 3.77% (w/w) ash, 12.23% (w/w) hot-water extractive and 3.93% (w/w) ethanol-toluene extractives. The effect of hot water pretreatment was observed after the biomass was treated in the autoclave at 121, 128 and 135 oC with 5, 10, and 15 min pretreatment time with distilled water. The best pretreatment method was selected based on the pretreatment method which maximized the cellulose content and minimized the lignin content. Based on the selected pretreatment method a higher cellulose content of 52.44% and lower lignin content of 27.85% was achieved at 128 oC temperature and 10 min pretreatment time.

Effect of Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment on Hydrolysates Composition and Methane Yield of Rice Processing Residue

Lignocellulosic rice processing residue was pretreated in liquid hot water (LHW) at three different temperatures (140, 160, and 180 °C) and two pretreatment times (10 and 20 min) in order to assess its effects on hydrolysates composition, matrix structural changes and methane yield. The concentrations of acetic acid, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural increased with pretreatment severity (log Ro). The maximum methane yield (276 L kg−1 VS) was achieved under pretreatment conditions of 180 °C for 20 min, with a 63% increase compared to untreated biomass. Structural changes resulted in a slight removal of silica on the upper portion of rice husks, visible predominantly at maximum severity. However, the outer epidermis was kept well organized. The results indicate, at severities 2.48 ≤ log Ro ≤ 3.66, a significant potential for the use of LHW to improve methane production from rice processing residue.

Anaerobic Digestion and Hot Water Pretreatment of Tropically Grown C4 Energy Grasses: Mass, Carbon, and Energy Conversions from Field Biomass to Fuels

The efficacy of C4 grasses as feedstocks for liquid fuel production and their climate mitigation potential remain unresolved in the tropics. To identify highly convertible C4 grasses, we measured final fuels and postprocess biomass produced in two laboratory-scale conversion pathways across 12 species and varieties within the Poaceae (grass) family. Total mass, carbon, and energy in final fuels and postprocess biomass were assessed based on field mass and area-based production. Two lignocellulosic processes were investigated: (1) anaerobic digestion (AD) to methane and (2) hot water pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis (HWP-EH) to ethanol. We found AD converted lignocellulose to methane more efficiently in terms of carbon and energy compared to ethanol production using HWP-EH, although improvements to and the optimization of each process could change these contrasts. The resulting data provide design limitations for agricultural production and biorefinery systems that regulate these systems as net carbon sources or sinks to the atmosphere. Median carbon recovery in final fuels and postprocess biomass from the studied C4 grasses were ~5 Mg C ha−1 year−1 for both methane and ethanol, while median energy recovery was ~200 MJ ha−1 year−1 for ethanol and ~275 MJ ha−1 year−1 for methane. The highest carbon and energy recovery from lignocellulose was achieved during methane production from a sugarcane hybrid called energycane, with ~10 Mg C ha−1 year−1 and ~450 MJ ha−1 year−1 of carbon and energy recovered, respectively, from fuels and post-process biomass combined. Carbon and energy recovery during ethanol production was also highest for energycane, with ~9 Mg C ha−1 year−1 and ~350 MJ ha−1 year−1 of carbon and energy recovered in fuels and postprocess biomass combined. Although several process streams remain unresolved, agricultural production and conversion of C4 grasses must operate within these carbon and energy limitations for biofuel and bioenergy production to be an atmospheric carbon sink.

Effects of water pretreatment on properties of pellets made from beech particles

Particles of beech wood were treated with hot water at the temperature of 150 oC, during 60 min, prior to the pelleting process. The applied hot water pretreatment affected the chemical composition and heating value of particles. Two groups of pellets, designated as PT 10 and PT 20, were produced from treated beech particles, with the moisture content of particles being 10.5 and 20.5 %, respectively. Pellets from nontreated beech particles (PNT) served as controls to assess the hot water pretreatment effects on the pellet properties. Both, the applied pretreatment, and the particle moisture content, affected properties of the obtained pellets. The heating value of PT 10 ad PT 20 pellets has increased for ~6 and 1 %, respectively. The mineral (ash) content in treated pellets decreased for about 24 % in comparison to that in PNT pellets. In addition, the bulk (apparent) density of pellets has increased for 21 % (PT 10) and 10 % (PT 20), as a consequence of the hot water pretreatment of particles. The specific density of PT 10 pellets was for 16 % higher, while the equilibrium moisture content (after conditioning at RH 68 % and 20.1?C) was for about 32 % lower in comparison to the respective properties of PNT pellets.