EARTH

[31013-24-06] Combined Biocatalysis with Chemical Process to Lignocellulose Pretreatment

○Mengying Si¹, Xu Yan^1,2, Mingren Liu¹, Liyuan Chai^1,2, Congjie Gao^1,2, Yan Shi^1,2 (1. Central South University, 2. Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution)

Chairman: Suwat Athichanagorn （Chulalongkorn University）, Min Xiabo (Central South University)

Keywords:lignocellulose pretreatment, rice straw, Cupriavidus basilensis B-8, biocatalysis, alkaline pretreatment

Composed primarily of carbohydrate polymers and a complex matrix of phenolic polymers known as lignin, lignocellulose should be pretreated to make biomass digestible by removing lignin and/or altering its structural features. Herein, a combination of biocatalysis with chemical process was newly conducted to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of rice straw via a washing mechansim. Specifically, bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis B-8, acting as eradicator, could specifically remove the lignin blots trapped in the interlaced fibrous cellulose followed by the alkaline pretreatment. Through the washing mechanism, 49.2%-85.0% lignin were removed and the enzymatic hydrolysis of double treated rice straw was 5.1-10.7-fold increased than that of untreated rice straw. Such washing mechanism combined biocatalysis with chemical process provided new insights into the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass.