Comparison of different chemical-free pretreatment methods for the production of sugars, ethanol and methane from lignocellulosic biomass
¹Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Chair of Biosystems Engineering, EE51014 Tartu, Estonia
²Renewable and Sustainable Energy Research Center, Technology Innovation Institute, P.O.Box: 9639, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
*Correspondence: nikki.sjulander@emu.ee; timo.kikas@emu.ee
Abstract:
Most pretreatment methods for lignocellulosic biomass use strong chemicals, such as sulphuric acid and ammonia, to open up the cellular structure of plant biomass. However, those chemicals are not environmentally friendly and their use leads to safety risks. As a result, different chemical-free pretreatment methods have been developed, which focus on the usage of pressure, high or low temperatures and mild chemicals. Freezing pretreatment and explosive decompression pretreatments, using different operating gases, such as nitrogen and steam, are compared in the context of glucose, ethanol and methane yield in this review. For the methane production, the stillage from bioethanol production is used. The usage of this waste improves the overall valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass. The review also investigates, whether the nitrogen explosive decompression pretreatment is suitable for the treatment of softwoods, hardwoods and herbaceous materials. In the comparison of different chemical-free pretreatment methods, it is concluded that heat and water are the most influential parameters for opening up the lignocellulosic biomass structure. The operating gas and pressure in the pretreatment reactor are less relevant. Steam explosion, nitrogen explosive decompression pretreatment and autohydrolysis pretreatment are the most suitable chemical-free pretreatment methods for lignocellulosic biomass.
Key words:
anaerobic digestion, biofuels, fermentation, lignocellulosic inhibitors, steam explosion