Progress in detoxification of inhibitors generated during lignocellulose pretreatment

Abstract:

Lignocellulose can be hydrolyzed by cellulase into fermentable sugars to produce hydrogen, ethanol, butanol and other biofuels with added value. Pretreatment is a critical step in biomass conversion, but also generates inhibitors with negative impacts on subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Hence, pretreatment and detoxification methods are the basis of efficient biomass conversion. Commonly used pretreatment methods of lignocellulose are chemical and physic-chemical processes. Here, we introduce different inhibitors and their inhibitory mechanisms, and summarize various detoxification methods. Moreover, we propose research directions for detoxification of inhibitors generated during lignocellulose pretreatment.