Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies on structural architecture of lignocellulosic materials of Calotropis procera during its processing for saccharification

The structural architecture of lignocellulose fibres after various pretreatments, i.e. chemical, physical and biochemical, was evaluated through SEM studies. These pretreatments, individual and integrated, rendered the biomass of C. procera more susceptible and accessible to saccharification and led to an increase in the production of fermentable sugars. The morphological changes that took place in lignocellulosic biomass included the removal of inhibitory materials like triterpenoids, hydrocarbons etc., production of cracks on the lignocellulosic fibres and exposure of cellulosic materials by the creation of pores during pretreatments. The most effective pretreatment was found to be enzymatic delignification, which resulted in a remarkable increase in sugar production, about 21-fold, by creating pores due to the removal of lignin from biomass, as revealed by SEM studies.