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Pretreatment of Hardwood and Miscanthus with Trametes versicolor for Bioenergy Conversion and Densification Strategies

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology volume 183, pages 1401–1413 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

The pretreatment of plant biomass negatively impacts the economics of many bioenergy and bioproduct processes due to the thermochemical requirements for deconstruction of lignocelluluose. An effective strategy to reduce these severity requirements is to pretreat the biomass with white-rot fungi, such as Trametes versicolor, which have the innate ability to deconstruct lignocellulose with a suite of specialized enzymes. In the present study, the effects of 12 weeks of pretreatment with a wild-type strain (52J) and a cellobiose dehydrogenase-deficient strain (m4D) of T. versicolor on hardwood and Miscanthus were explored. Both strains of T. versicolor led to significant decreases of insoluble lignin and significant increases of soluble lignin after acid hydrolysis, which suggests improved lignin extractability. The glucose yields after saccharification using an enzyme cocktail containing chitinase were similar or significantly higher with 52J-treated biomass compared to untreated hardwood and Miscanthus, respectively. The fungal treated biomass, regardless of the strain used, also showed significant increases in energy content and compressive strength of pellets. Overall, the use of T. versicolor as a pretreatment agent for hardwood and Miscanthus could be an environmentally friendly strategy for conversion technologies that require delignification and saccharification, and/or processes that require densification and transport.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant awarded to T.C. (SU835708) from the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program of the US Environmental Protection Agency, along with internal research grants from Eastern Illinois University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA

    Ryan M. Kalinoski, Erin R. Tuegel, Michael A. Bilek, Michael J. West & Thomas Canam

  2. Center for Clean Energy Research and Education, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA

    Ryan M. Kalinoski, Hector D. Flores, Sunil Thapa, Evelin Y. Reyes-Mendez, Michael J. West & Thomas Canam

  3. Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Ryan M. Kalinoski

  4. Departemento de Recursos Narutales y Ambiente, Universidad Nacional de Agricultura, Barrio el Espino, Catacamas, Olancho, Honduras

    Hector D. Flores & Evelin Y. Reyes-Mendez

  5. Biobased Products and Energy Center, Oklahoma State University, 223 Ag Hall, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Sunil Thapa

  6. Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Michael A. Bilek

  7. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada

    Tim J. Dumonceaux

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  1. Ryan M. Kalinoski
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Correspondence to Thomas Canam.

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Kalinoski, R.M., Flores, H.D., Thapa, S. et al. Pretreatment of Hardwood and Miscanthus with Trametes versicolor for Bioenergy Conversion and Densification Strategies. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 183, 1401–1413 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2507-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2507-3

Keywords

  • Biomass
  • Densification
  • Lignocellulose
  • Pretreatment
  • White-rot fungi