Abstract
Acidified aqueous solutions of different quaternary ammonium salts were tested for pretreating corn stover compared to control solutions, including single acidic solution and acidified NaCl and NH4Cl solutions. The results revealed that quaternary ammonium salt solutions were more effective in delignification and cellulose saccharification than the control solutions. The chemical structure of these salts significantly influenced the pretreatment efficacy. Notably, benzyltrimethylammonium chloride (BTMAC), a cost-effective option, exhibited remarkable capabilities. It achieved approximately 90% xylan removal, 86% lignin removal, and a 48-h enzymatic glucose yield of up to 93%. The BTMAC solution proved to be recycled for at least four runs while maintaining satisfactory performance. This work contributes valuable insights into the promising potential of standalone QAS solutions, offering a viable and cost-effective option for biomass pretreatment.
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This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC1906601).
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Benkun Qi conceived and designed the study, conducted the data analysis, and wrote the first draf of the manuscript. Yuan Zhu and Liyi Zhang performed the experiments. Jianquan Luo and Yinhua Wan critically reviewed the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final mauscript.
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Zhu, Y., Zhang, L., Qi, B. et al. Pretreatment of corn stover using aqueous quaternary ammonium salt solutions for improved enzymatic saccharification. Cellulose 31, 1519–1532 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05710-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05710-x