Technical solutions used in different pretreatments of lignocellulosic biomass: a review
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Technology, 56 Kreutzwaldi Str., EE 51014 Tartu, Estonia
*Correspondence: timo.kikas@emu.ee
Abstract:
Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass has attracted a lot of attention as one of the most promising alternative to liquid fossil fuels. Over the last decades a lot of research has been done to find the optimal methods & devices to produce bioethanol from all kind of lignocellulosic biomass. A traditional three-step production process is used to produce bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass – pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, & fermentation. Today, the high cost of the pretreatment prevents bioethanol from competing with petrol. In this review article, the positive & negative aspects of different pretreatment methods & patented devices are investigated & analysed. Based on the analysis several options on how to lower lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment costs & how to increase the competitiveness of bioethanol are proposed.
Key words:
bioethanol, biomass, pretreatment devices, pretreatment methods