Abstract
Pretreatment is a critical step in the enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic substrate to sugars. A unique pretreatment sequence involving thermochemical treatment (steam explosion) followed by biological treatment (fungal exposure) was evaluated for Pinus radiata as a biofuel substrate. The effect of biological treatment using the white rot Trametes versicolor was investigated on control (sapwood blocks) and steam-exploded wood (SEW) for changes in the profile of fungal enzyme activity and lignocellulose composition. The results indicated that compared to blocks, Trametes versicolor expressed more lignocellulose-degrading enzymes when grown on SEW for 6 and 12 weeks. After fungal exposure, the biomass was mixed with a commercial enzyme cocktail for enzymatic hydrolysis. The maximum conversion of biomass to sugars was obtained for Trametes versicolor-treated SEW, with a yield of 4.80 g of glucose l−1, which is greater compared to that obtained from non-fungal-treated SEW (3.80 g of glucose l−1) and Trametes versicolor-treated sapwood blocks (0.80 g of glucose l−1). Examination by microscopy suggests relative increase in the porosity of SEW after fungal treatment, and compositional analysis indicates reduction in lignin content. Both these factors are likely to contribute to the improved hydrolysis of SEW.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arganda-Carreras I, Fernandez-Gonzalez R, Munoz-Barrutia A, Ortiz-De-Solorzano C (2010) 3D reconstruction of histological sections: application to mammary gland tissue. Microsc Res Tech 73:1019–1029
Bailey MJ, Nevalainen KMH (1981) Induction, isolation and testing of stable Trichoderma reesei mutants with improved production of solubilizing cellulase. Enzyme Microb Technol 3:153–157
Brown H, Saddler JN (1987) Steam pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials for enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis. Biotechnol Bioeng 29:228–235
Cameron H, Campion SH, Singh T, Vaidya AA (2015) Improved saccharification of steam exploded Pinus radiata on supplementing crude extract of Penicillium sp. 3. Biotech 5:221–225
Chen WH, Tsai CC, Lin CF, Tsai PY, Hwang WS (2012) Pilot-scale study on the acid-catalyzed steam explosion of rice straw using a continuous pretreatment system. Bioresour Technol 128:297–304
Dias AA, Freitas GS, Marques GSM et al (2010) Enzymatic saccharification of biologically pre-treated wheat straw with white-rot fungi. Bioresour Technol 101:6045–6050
da Costa Sousa L, Chundawat SP, Balan V, Dale BE (2009) ‘Cradle-to-grave’ assessment of existing lignocellulosic pretreatment technologies. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:339–347
Donaldson LA, Wong KKY, Mackie KL (1988) Ultrastructure of steam exploded wood. Wood Sci Technol 22:103–114
Donaldson LA (2013) Softwood and hardwood lignin fluorescence spectra of wood cell walls in different mounting media. IAWA J 34:3–19
Enoki A, Itakura S, Tanaka H (1997) The involvement of extracellular substances for reducing molecular oxygen to hydroxyl radical and ferric iron to ferrous iron in wood degradation by woo decay fungi. J Biotechnol 53:265–272
Ferreira-Leitao V, Perrone CC, Rodrigues J et al (2010) An approach to the utilisation of CO2 as impregnating agent in steam pretreatment of sugar cane bagasse and leaves for ethanol production. Biotechnol Biofuels 3:7–12
Hammel KE, Kapich AN, Jensen KA, Ryan ZC (2002) Reactive oxygen species as agents of wood decay fungi. Enzyme Microb Technol 30:445–453
IUPAC (1987) Measurement of cellulase activity. (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) Pure Appl Chem 59:257–268
Itoh H, Wada M, Honda Y, Kuwahara M, Watanabe T (2003) Bioorganosolve pretreatments for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of beech wood by ethanolysis and white rot fungi. J Biotechnol 103:273–280
Kallavus U, Gravitis J (1995) A comparative investigation of the ultrastructure of steam exploded wood with light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Holzforschung 49:182–188
Li G, Chen H (2014) Synergistic mechanism of steam explosion combined with fungal treatment by Phellinus baumii for the pretreatment of corn stalk. Biomass Bioenergy 67:1–7
Meyberg M (1988) Selective staining of fungal hyphae in parasitic and symbiotic plant-fungus associations. Histochemistry 88:197–199
Michalowics G, Toussaint B, Vignon MR (1991) Ultrastructural changes in poplar cell wall during steam explosion treatment. Holzforschung 45:175–179
Narayanan Niladevi K, Jacob N, Prema P (2008) Evidence of a halotolerant- alkaline laccase in Streptomyces psammoticus: purification and characterization. Process Biochem 43:654–660
Newman RH, Vaidya AA, Imroz Sohel M, Jack MW (2013) Optimizing the enzyme loading and incubation time in enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates. Bioresour Technol 129:33–38
Ray M, Leak D, Spanu PD, Murphy R (2010) Brown-rot fungal early stage decay mechanism as a biological pretreatment for softwood biomass in biofuel production. Biomass Bioenergy 34:1257–1262
Russ JC (1995) The image processing handbook, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Sawada T, Nakamura Y, Kobayashi F, Kuwahara M, Watanabe T (1995) Effects of fungal pretreatment and steam explosion pretreatment on enzymatic saccharification of plant biomass. Biotechnol Bioeng 48:719–724
Schilling JS, Tewalt JP, Duncan SM (2009) Synergy between pretreatment lignocellulose modifications and saccharification efficiency in two brown-rot fungal systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 84:465–475
Singh AP, Daniel G, Nilsson T (2002) High variability in the thickness of the S3 layer in Pinus radiata tracheids. Holzforschung 56:111–116
Sluiter A, Hames B, Ruiz R, Scarlata C, Sluiter J, Templeton D (2006) Determination of sugars, byproducts and degradation products in liquid fraction process samples. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/TP-510-42623. http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/pdfs/42623.pdf
Somerville C (2014) How big is the bioenergy piece of the energy pie? Who cares—it’s pie! Biotechnol Bioeng 111:1717–1718
Sundqvist B, Karlsson O, Westermark U (2006) Determination of formic-acid and acetic acid concentrations formed during hydrothermal treatment of birch wood and its relation to colour, strength and hardness. Wood Sci Technol 40:549–561
Tanahashi M (1990) Characterisation and degradation mechanisms of wood components by steam explosion and utilization of exploded wood. Wood Research No. 77
Taniguchi M, Takahashi D, Watanabe D, Sakai K, Hoshino K, Kouya T, Tanaka T (2010) Effect of steam explosion pretreatment on treatment with Pleurotus ostreatus. J Biosci Bioeng 110:449–452
Vaidya AA, Singh T (2012) Pre-treatment of P. radiata substrate by basidiomycetes fungi to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis. Biotechnol Lett 34:1263–1267
Wong KKY, Deverell KF, Mackie KL, Clark TA, Donaldson LA (1988) The relationship between fibre porosity and cellulose digestibility in steam-exploded Pinus radiata. Biotechnol Bioeng 31:447–456
Yin Y, Berglund L, Salmén L (2011) Effect of Steam Treatment on the Properties of Wood Cell Walls. Biomacromolecules 12:194–202
Yu H, Zhang X, Song L, Ke J, Xu C, Du W, Zhang J (2010) Evaluation of white-rot fungi-assisted alkaline/oxidative pretreatment of corn straw undergoing enzymatic hydrolysis by cellulase. J Biosci Bioeng 110:660–664
Zhang X, Xu C, Wang H (2007) Pretreatment of bamboo residues with Coriolus versicolor for enzymatic hydrolysis. J Biosci Bioeng 104:149–151
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Scion core funding. We would like to thank Sylke Campion and Sunita Jeram for their help with enzymatic assays and compositional analysis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, T., Vaidya, A.A., Donaldson, L.A. et al. Improvement in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biofuel substrate by a combined thermochemical and fungal pretreatment. Wood Sci Technol 50, 1003–1014 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-016-0838-9
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-016-0838-9