Hydrothermal Pretreatment of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Leaflets and Rachis to Enhance Enzymatic Digestibility and Bioethanol Potential.
Date palm residues are one of the most promising lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production in the Middle East. In this study, leaflets and rachis were subjected to hydrothermal pretreatment to overcome the recalcitrance of the biomass for enzymatic conversion. Evident morphological, structural, and chemical changes were observed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy after pretreatment. High glucan (>90% for both leaflets and rachis) and xylan (>75% for leaflets and >79% for rachis) recovery were achieved. Under the optimal condition of hydrothermal pretreatment (210°C/10 min) highly digestible (glucan convertibility, 100% to leaflets, 78% to rachis) and fermentable (ethanol yield, 96% to leaflets, 80% to rachis) solid fractions were obtained. Fermentability test of the liquid fractions proved that no considerable inhibitors to Saccharomyces cerevisiae were produced in hydrothermal pretreatment. Given the high sugar recovery, enzymatic digestibility, and ethanol yield, production of bioethanol by hydrothermal pretreatment could be a promising way of valorization of date palm residues in this region.
Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Chuanji
C
Fang
Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Jens Ejbye
JE
Schmidt
Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Iwona
I
Cybulska
Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Grzegorz P
GP
Brudecki
Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Christian Grundahl
CG
Frankær
Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Mette Hedegaard
MH
Thomsen
D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D065749:Phoeniceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000254:growth & development
D056804:Biofuels; D000431:Ethanol