Abstract
The effect of steam-explosion pretreatment on biodegradation of lignin in wheat straw was analyzed based on experiments and observations. Optimum lignin loss was observed when wheat straw steam-exploded under 0.8 MPa at 1:20 straw/water ratio. Trametes Versicolor was selected as a potent lignin degrader. Through fungal retting for 40 days, Biological Degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in Steam-Exploded Wheat Straw was investigated, and a maximum of 55.43% of lignin loss was found on day 30. Three kinds of wheat straw samples, non-pretreated, steam-exploded and biodegraded after steam-explosion were analyzed with FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA and SEM. The decrease in the intensity of prominent peaks in FT-IR spectroscopy for the exploded samples after biodegradation showed the partial removal of lignin. TGA thermograms showed significant differences in decomposition characteristics among the samples and the steam-exploded wheat straw after biodegradation would be easily decomposed. From morphological analysis it can be found that the pretreated wheat straw has a porous structure which favors for accelerated biodegradation process.
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