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Changes in plant cell-wall structure of corn stover due to hot compressed water pretreatment and enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis

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Abstract

Corn stover is a potential feedstock for biofuel production. This work investigated physical and chemical changes in plant cell-wall structure of corn stover due to hot compressed water (HCW) pretreatment at 170–190 °C in a tube reactor. Chemical composition analysis showed the soluble hemicellulose content increased with pretreatment temperature, whereas the hemicellulose content decreased from 29 to 7 % in pretreated solids. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the parenchyma-type second cell-wall structure of the plant was almost completely removed at 185 °C, and the sclerenchyma-type second cell wall was greatly damaged upon addition of 5 mmol/L ammonium sulfate during HCW pretreatment. These changes favored accessibility for enzymatic action. Enzyme saccharification of solids by optimized pretreatment with HCW at 185 °C resulted in an enzymatic hydrolysis yield of 87 %, an enhancement of 77 % compared to the yield from untreated corn stover.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Chinese National Programs for High Technology Research and Development (Grants 2012aa022301 and 2012AA101807).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 353, Beijing, 100190, China

    Wei Zhou, Maohua Yang, Caixia Wang, Jianfei Liu & Jianmin Xing

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Wei Zhou, Caixia Wang & Jianfei Liu

Authors
  1. Wei Zhou
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  2. Maohua Yang
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  3. Caixia Wang
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  4. Jianfei Liu
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  5. Jianmin Xing
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Correspondence to Jianmin Xing.

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Zhou, W., Yang, M., Wang, C. et al. Changes in plant cell-wall structure of corn stover due to hot compressed water pretreatment and enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 30, 2325–2333 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-014-1651-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-014-1651-y

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