Effect of biopretreatment on thermogravimetric and chemical characteristics of corn stover by different white-rot fungi

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2010-07, Vol.101 (14), p.5475-5479
• Main Authors: Yang, Xuewei, Zeng, Yelin, Ma, Fuying, Zhang, Xiaoyu, Yu, Hongbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Biopretreatment; Biotechnology - methods; Cellulose; Cellulose - chemistry; Corn; Corn stover; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungi; Fungi - metabolism; Gases; General agronomy. Plant production; Hot Temperature; Kinetics; Lignin - chemistry; Pyrolysis; Pyrolysis characteristics; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared - methods; Stockpiling; Sulfur; Temperature; Thermal decomposition; Thermogravimetry - methods; Time Factors; Use and upgrading of agricultural and food by-products. Biotechnology; Use of agricultural and forest wastes. Biomass use, bioconversion; White-rot fungi; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.01.129

The thermogravimetric and chemical characterization of corn stover biopretreated by three different species of white-rot fungi have been studied in this research. Results indicated that biopretreatment can optimize the thermal decomposition, decrease the reaction temperature and reduce the gas contamination (SO x ), making the biomass pyrolysis more efficient and environmentally friendly. Biopretreatment can decrease the activation energy and reacting temperature of the hemicellulose and cellulose pyrolysis (up to 36 °C), shorten the temperature range of the active pyrolysis (up to 14 °C), and increase the thermal decomposition rate, greatly promoting the reaction and making the biomass pyrolysis easier to start and carry on. On the other hand, by biopretreatment, the sulphur content can decrease up to 46.15%, which can considerably reduce the inventory of SO x emission. Moreover, the mechanism of the biopretreatment was also explored that the deconstruction and depolymerization of the recalcitrant linkages of lignin and cellulose by biopretreatment can make the structure of biomass incompact and easier to be pyrolyzed.