Effects of pretreatment of wheat bran on the quality of protein-rich residue for animal feeding and on monosaccharide release for ethanol production

The effects of hydrothermal conditions for pretreating wheat bran on the quality of residual protein for animal feeding, and on monosaccharide release for ethanol production were studied according to a 4 × 2 × 2 design with the factors, temperature (120, 140, 160, and 180 °C), acidity (pH 2.3 and 3.9), and retention time (5 and 10 min). Temperature affected the quality of residual protein for animal feeding. Pretreatment at 120 and 140 °C did not affect O-methylisourea-reactive lysine in protein-rich wheat bran residue, although total lysine decreased with increasing temperature at pH 2.3. At temperatures higher than 140 °C, reactive lysine decreased and melanoidins, furfural and 5-HMF increased. Lower acidity during pretreatment at 120 and 140 °C increased the digestibility of the residual wheat protein in vitro by 36%. Pretreatment conditions did not substantially affect the release of monomeric xylose and arabinose by hemicellulases, which suggests that arabinoxylans in wheat bran are well accessible for enzymes.