title: Augmented digestion of lignocellulose by steam explosion, acid and alkaline pretreatment methods: a review.
abstract: Lignocellulosic materials can be explored as one of the sustainable substrates for bioethanol production through microbial intervention as they are abundant, cheap and renewable. But at the same time, their recalcitrant structure makes the conversion process more cumbersome owing to their chemical composition which adversely affects the efficiency of bioethanol production. Therefore, the technical approaches to overcome recalcitrance of biomass feedstock has been developed to remove the barriers with the help of pretreatment methods which make cellulose more accessible to the hydrolytic enzymes, secreted by the microorganisms, for its conversion to glucose. Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass in cost effective manner is a major challenge to bioethanol technology research and development. Hence, in this review, we have discussed various aspects of three commonly used pretreatment methods, viz., steam explosion, acid and alkaline, applied on various lignocellulosic biomasses to augment their digestibility alongwith the challenges associated with their processing.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Botany, A. I. Jat H. M. College, Rohtak 124001, Haryana, India. Electronic address: jssdahiya@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Joginder
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, Haryana, India. Electronic address: meenakshisuhag@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meenakshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suhag
authors.affiliation: PNRS Government College, Rohtak 124001, Haryana, India. Electronic address: anildhaka2k9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhaka
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013227:Steam
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D013227:Steam; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin
keywords: Acid and alkaline pretreatments; Bioethanol; Lignocellulosic biomass; Pretreatment methods; Steam explosion