Abstract
BackgroundRenewable liquid biofuel production will reduce crude oil import of India. To displace the huge quantity of fossil fuels used for energy production, this research was focused on utilization of unexploited low-cost agricultural residues for biofuel production. Corncobs are a byproduct of corn processing industry, and till now it is not utilized for biofuel production, eventhough it has high lignocellulosic concent. In this study, combined hydrodynamic cavitation and enzymatic (HCE) method was evaluated as a pretreatment method of corncob for biofuel production. The most significant process parameters namely (i) enzyme loading (3–10 U g−1), (ii) biomass loading (2.5–5.0%), and (iii) duration (5–60 min) were optimized and their effects on combined HCE pretreatment of corncob was studied through response surface methodology for lignin reduction, hemicellulose reduction and cellulose increase.ResultsThe highest lignin reduction (47.4%) was obtained in orifice plate 1 (OP1) under the optimized conditions namely biomass loading at 5%, enzyme loading at 6.5 U g−1 of biomass, and reaction duration of 60 min. The above tested independent variables had a significant effect on lignin reduction. The cavitational yield and energy consumption under the above-mentioned optimized conditions for OP1 was 3.56 × 10−5 g J−1 and 1.35 MJ kg−1, respectively.ConclusionsIt is evident from the study that HCE is an effective technology and requires less energy (1.35 MJ kg−1) than other biomass pretreatment methods.
Highlights
Renewable liquid biofuel production will reduce crude oil import of India
To determine the optimum values of variables for hydrodynamic cavitation and enzymatic (HCE) pretreatment, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed with all the input variables set in the range, with output responses set at maximum levels
Weight of biomass used kg Conclusion Based on the results it is clear that HCE pretreatment process have decreased the lignin content and increased the cellulose recovery from corncob
Summary
The highest lignin reduction (47.4%) was obtained in orifice plate 1 (OP1) under the optimized conditions namely biomass loading at 5%, enzyme loading at 6.5 U g−1 of biomass, and reaction duration of 60 min. The above tested independent variables had a significant effect on lignin reduction. The cavitational yield and energy consumption under the above-mentioned optimized conditions for OP1 was 3.56 × 10−5 g J−1 and 1.35 MJ kg−1, respectively. Conclusions: It is evident from the study that HCE is an effective technology and requires less energy (1.35 MJ kg−1) than other biomass pretreatment methods
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