A cyclic process for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of lactic acid pretreated reed

This research aims to explore a green, economical and recyclable pretreatment method to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of reed. In this study, lactic acid (LA) as a kind of weak organic acid was used to pretreat reed. The results of orthogonal experiments showed that temperature was the most dominant influencing factor for the pretreatment process. Linear experiments conducted the optimum temperature for LA pretreatment of reed was 150 degrees C. Under this condition, the lignin removal reached 90.46%, glucan recovery was 89.80%, glucan digestibility was 66.43%, and the final sugar yields reached 60.70%. LA fermentation using the liquid obtained from enzymatic hydrolysis. The sugar acids conversion rate was 37.89%, which was 17.05% higher than that obtained by fermentation of pure glucose. Moreover, the product lactic acid can be widely used either as feed or to prepare polylactic acid and it also can continue to be used in the pretreatment of reed.

Automated summary

The research explored using lactic acid as a green, economical, and recyclable pretreatment method for reed, with optimal temperature found to be 150 degrees C. The fermentation of lactic acid resulted in a higher sugar acids conversion rate compared to fermentation of pure glucose, and the product can have various applications such as in feed or in the preparation of polylactic acid.