A review on the pretreatment of lignocellulose for high-value chemicals

Pretreatment is an important process to transform lignocellulosic biomass to high-value chemicals. This process potentially provides economic sustainability, which is challenged by energy crisis and environmental pollution. Pretreatment is mainly applied to improve the digestibility of cellulose by increasing enzyme accessibility. Different lignocellulosic biomasses require various pretreatment processes and conditions depending on process configurations selected for subsequent hydrolysis and fermentation steps. In this article, studies on the pretreatment of lignocellulose for high-value chemicals were reviewed. The relative advantages of various pretreatment processes, including physical, chemical, physicochemical, and biological methods, were also assessed in economic perspectives. Existing problems and development potential were also discussed. This review provides a theoretical basis for future research on lignocellulosic biomass for chemical applications. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.