AUTHOR=Mahmud Nazira , Rosentrater Kurt A. 

TITLE=Low Moisture Anhydrous Ammonia Pretreatment of Four Lignocellulosic Materials—Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles, Corn Gluten Feed, Corn Fiber, and Oil Palm Frond

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2021.682522

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2021.682522

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=Lignin and hemicellulose structures in cellulosic biomass serve as a barrier for enzyme reactions. A pretreatment step is therefore needed to break these components before the biomass could be used in a fermentation process. Various pretreatment methods invented are being disputed because of their potential for driving up the production costs of bioproducts, mainly because of high liquid and chemical requirements, harsh process conditions, and the high amount of waste produced. Low moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment capable of eliminating those drawbacks. In this study, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), corn gluten feed (CGF), corn fiber (CF), and oil palm frond (OPF) with different moisture contents were subjected to LMAA pretreatment at the specific ammonia loading rate, 1 h ammoniation, and 75 ºC incubation temperature. This pretreatment successfully decreased the lignin content of the materials, increased their percentage of α-cellulose, and improved enzymatic digestibility for most of the materials tested. The effect of moisture content (30 and 50 % db.) was found to be more significant than that of incubation time (24 and 72 h).