Hydrogen Peroxide-Assisted Sodium Carbonate Pretreatment for the Enhancement of Enzymatic Saccharification of Corn Stover

In this work, the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide-assisted sodium carbonate (HSC) pretreatment of corn stover to produce fermentable sugars was investigated. It was found that the addition of H2O2 (a green oxidative agent) in Na2CO3 pretreatment could enhance the lignin removal and increase the hydrophilicity of the residual lignin, leading to the improved enzymatic digestibility and the yield of fermentable sugars. Also, results showed that lignin removal (in the range of 12-65%) was positively and linearly correlated with final total sugar yields. Post PFI refining could further improve the enzyme accessibility by increasing porosity of substrates. After HSC pretreatment (40 wt % Na2CO3 and 15 wt % H2O2 120 degrees C for 60 min) and enzymatic hydrolysis, the final total sugar yield could achieve 79%, which was about 10% higher in comparison with the conventional Na2CO3 pretreatment under the same conditions. HSC pretreatment will have less environmental impact and less barriers for large scale production.