Comparison of sodium carbonate–oxygen and sodium hydroxide–oxygen pretreatments on the chemical composition and enzymatic saccharification of wheat straw

Pretreatment of wheat straw with a combination of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with oxygen (O2) 0.5 MPa was evaluated for its delignification ability at relatively low temperature 110 °C and for its effect on enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency. In the pretreatment, the increase of alkali charge (as Na2O) up to 12% for Na2CO3 and 6% for NaOH, respectively, resulted in enhancement of lignin removal, but did not significantly degrade cellulose and hemicellulose. When the pretreated solid was hydrolyzed with a mixture of cellulases and hemicellulases, the sugar yield increased rapidly with the lignin removal during the pretreatment. A total sugar yield based on dry matter of raw material, 63.8% for Na2CO3–O2 and 71.9% for NaOH–O2 was achieved under a cellulase loading of 20 FPU/g-cellulose. The delignification efficiency and total sugar yield from enzymatic hydrolysis were comparable to the previously reported results at much higher temperature without oxygen.