Synergistic mechanism of steam explosion combined with laccase treatment for straw delignification

Abstract:

Components separation is the key technology in biorefinery. Combination of steam explosion and laccase was used, and synergistic effect of the combined pretreatment was evaluated in terms of physical structure, chemical components and extraction of lignin. The results showed that steam explosion can destroy the rigid structure and increase the specific surface area of straw, which facilitated the laccase pretreatment. The laccase pretreatment can modify the lignin structure based on the Fourier transform infrared test, as a result the delignification of straw was enhanced. Nuclei Growth model with a time dependent rate constant can describe the delignification, and the kinetics parameters indicated that the combined pretreatment improved the reaction sites and made the delignification reaction more sensitive to temperature. The combined pretreatment enhanced delignification, and can be a promising technology as an alternative to the existing pretreatment.