Enhanced Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Poplar after Combined Dilute NaOH and Fenton Pretreatment

• Main Authors: Chunyan Zhang, Haisheng Pei, Shanshan Wang, Zhongyi Cui, Ping Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: North Carolina State University 2016-07-01
• Series: BioResources
• Subjects: Poplar; Combination pretreatment; Fenton reaction; NaOH extraction; Enzymatic hydrolysis
• Online Access: http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/BioRes/article/view/BioRes_11_3_7522_Zhang_Enhanced_Enzymatic_Hydrolysis_Poplar

Five types of pretreatment processes were investigated to confirm the enhancement of the enzymatic hydrolysis of poplar. These processes included a hot water pretreatment, a calcium oxide pretreatment, NaOH extraction at low temperature, a Fenton reaction, and a combined dilute NaOH and Fenton pretreatment. The combined dilute NaOH and Fenton pretreatment was found to be the most effective pretreatment process. After enzymatic hydrolysis for 72 h, 74% of the cellulose recovery yield was obtained when the poplar substrates were pretreated with 2% NaOH at 75 °C for 3 h, followed by 20 mmol/g of H2O2 (30%) and 0.2 mmol/g of FeSO4·7H2O for a Fenton reaction period of 12 h. The cellulose recovery yield was approximately five-fold greater than that of the untreated sample directly processed by enzymatic hydrolysis. Furthermore, microscopic observations of changes in the surface structure of the pretreated residue were correlated with the enhancement of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. In conclusion, the combined dilute NaOH and Fenton pretreatment shows high potential for future application.