Implementing dilute acid pretreatment coupled with solid acid catalysis and enzymatic hydrolysis to improve bioconversion of bamboo shoot shells

Abstract

Exploiting bamboo shoot shells (BSS) as feedstocks for biorefining is a crucial scheme to advance the bioavailability of bamboo shoots. This work applied traditional dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment (DAP) to treat BSS and simultaneously prepared the solid-acid-catalyst by using BSS as carbon-based carriers. The biocatalysis of the prehydrolysate from DAP and enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated BSS was subsequently performed to achieve efficient bioconversion of its carbohydrates. The results displayed that 0.1 g/L H2SO4 employed in DAP was the optimal condition for furfural conversion of BSS during biocatalysis, reaching the maximum of 41%. Meanwhile, the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of the pretreated BSS also reached the maximum of 97%. This increment of efficiency was ascribed to the enhancement of accessibility and cellulosic crystal size, and also the reduction of surface area of lignin in BSS. Ultimately, the efficient bioutilization of BSS and bioconversion of its carbohydrates were realized by DAP technology.