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Statistical modelling and optimization of alkaline peroxide oxidation pretreatment process on rice husk cellulosic biomass to enhance enzymatic convertibility and fermentation to ethanol

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Abstract

The complex and ordered arrangements of the lignocellulosic materials make them recalcitrant for their conversions to ethanol. Pretreatment is a crucial step in overcoming these hindrances. In this study, a 23-full factorial design of experiments optimization technique was applied on the alkaline peroxide oxidation pretreatments of rice husks biomass. The low–high levels of the influencing variables on pretreatments were; temperature (100–120 °C), time (1–2 h), % (v/v)H2O2 concentration (1–3%). Under the prevailing pretreatments, the optimum conditions were predicted and validated to be 109 °C, 2 h, and 1.38% H2O2 which yielded 56% (w/w) cellulose content, 55% (w/w) hemicellulose solubilization, and 48% (w/w) lignin removal. At the established optimum pretreatment conditions, and considering variations in biomass and enzymes loadings, maximum reducing sugars production was 205 mg/g dry biomass at different enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of 3% biomass loading, hydrolysis temperature of 45 °C, hydrolysis time of 24 h, and 35 FPU/g cellulose enzyme loading. The highest cellulose conversion of 33% yielded 24 g/L ethanol at the end of the first day of saccharification and fermentation. Physical, structural, and morphological investigations on raw and treated materials using tools such as stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy further revealed the effectiveness of chosen method on rice husks biomass.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Covenant University, Km. 10 Idiroko Road, Canaan land, Ota, Nigeria

    Augustine Omoniyi Ayeni, Opeyemi Adeeyo & Musa Joel Garba

  2. Sustainable Energy and Environment Research Unit, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Private Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Michael Olawale Daramola, Patrick T. Sekoai & Ayotunde A. Awosusi

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  1. Augustine Omoniyi Ayeni
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  2. Michael Olawale Daramola
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Ayeni, A.O., Daramola, M.O., Sekoai, P.T. et al. Statistical modelling and optimization of alkaline peroxide oxidation pretreatment process on rice husk cellulosic biomass to enhance enzymatic convertibility and fermentation to ethanol. Cellulose 25, 2487–2504 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-018-1714-6

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