Enhancement of Enzymatic Saccharifi-cation of Wheat Straw Residue by Ammonium Sulfite Pretreatment

keywords:wheat straw residue  ammonium sulfite pretreatment  enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency

Abstract:Efficient utilization of wheat straw residue (WSR) from pulp mills is an important priority for the sustainable development of the pulp and paper industry. In this study, the effects of ammonium sulfite (AS) pretreatment with different AS charges (wt%) and pretreatment temperatures on the chemical composition and enzymatic hydrolysis of WSR were studied. The results revealed that more lignin was removed with the increase of pretreatment temperature and AS charge. The degradation of hemicellulose became severe at high pretreatment temperature, while cellulose remained stable during the pretreatment process. The enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of pretreated WSR was increased and then decreased with the increase of the AS charge and pretreatment temperature. The AS charge exerts a stronger effect on enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency than the pretreatment temperature. Glucan and xylan conversion ratios up to 88.9% and 44.9%, respectively, were obtained. The highest total sugar conversion ratio was 67.0% when WSR pretreated with 16% AS at 165℃ was hydrolyzed with a cellulase loading of 40 FPU per gram of glucan.