title: Effects of ammonium carbonate pretreatment on the enzymatic digestibility and structural features of rice straw.
abstract: Rice straw was pretreated with ammonium carbonate ((NH₄)₂CO₃), a major intermediate of ammonia-based carbon capture process, and evaluated for the effects of critical pretreatment parameters including (NH₄)₂CO₃ concentration (5-25%), temperature (60-90°C), and reaction time (4-24 h) on enzymatic digestibility. Pretreatment of rice straw at 80°C for 12 h using 20% (NH₄)₂CO₃ and 1:10 solid to liquid ratio resulted in enzymatic digestibility of 72.2%, which was higher than that pretreated with the same moles of aqueous ammonia. We also investigated physical characteristics of pretreated rice straw, including surface area, pore volume and size, crystallinity, and scanning electron microscopy image. The ammonium carbonate pretreatment process, as a novel pretreatment technique, enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose by altering structural features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ilgook
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Bomi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dongsu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hanj2@kaist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong-In
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D002254:Carbonates / Q000737:chemistry*; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources / Q000379:methods*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D002254:Carbonates; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin; C040502:ammonium carbonate
keywords: Ammonium carbonate pretreatment; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Rice straw; Structural features