Lignocellulosic Biomass to Biofuel Production: an Application Review of Mechano-chemical Pretreatment

Abstract

Application of mechanical pretreatment in lignocellulsic biomass using screw press or extruder pretreatment recently gained more interest due to high shear, rapid mixing, short residence time, no inhibitor formation (e.g. furfural and HMF), and moderate operating condition. Even though, the physical structure of biomass could be modified through this process, the lignin is stay still. This remaining lignin cannot be removed and it subsequently inhibits the enzyme activity to hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose. Therefore, the chemical addition to remove lignin is considered as the option to combine with mechanical pretreatment to improve the overall pretreatment efficiency. This review provided the study cases focusing on the feasibility of this process and the selection of suitable chemicals in order to implement this process to practical applications in industries.