Abstract
Availability of feedstock is one of the uncertainties impeding cellulosic biofuel production, and conservation of whole crop biomass as silage is a promising method to ensure year-round feedstock availability for biofuel production. This study investigated lignocellulose degradation and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of a 90-d sorghum silage incorporated with soybean and inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum A1 in a three (0, 25, and 50%; soybean inclusions) by two (uninoculated and inoculated) factorial experiment. The results revealed that L. plantarum A1 inoculated silages had improved fermentation characteristics. The silages’ total N and non-fiber carbohydrate increased with L. plantarum A1 and soybean inclusion (p < 0.05). Inoculation also increased the residual water-soluble carbohydrate by 33.9% (p < 0.05). Inoculation and soybean inclusion significantly hydrolyzed the biomass’ lignocellulose, altered its morphology and microstructural matrix, increased production of ferulic acid and reduced the biomass crystallinity by 15.60% (p < 0.05). L. plantarum A1 inoculation × soybean inclusion improved glucose yield and cellulose conversion during enzymatic saccharification compared to uninoculated treatments. Therefore, incorporating soybean into sorghum silage with L. plantarum A1 inoculation enhanced fermentation quality, lignocellulose degradation and enzymatic saccharification which could serve as a sure way for sustainable year-round feedstock supply for enhanced biofuel production.
Highlights
Lignocellulosic biofuel production provides a sustainable renewable energy that could ameliorate the global energy crisis
Year-round feedstock availability is among the uncertainties impeding cellulosic biofuel production [2,3]
A significant linear effect was observed on all the fiber fractions of the forages
Summary
Lignocellulosic biofuel production provides a sustainable renewable energy that could ameliorate the global energy crisis. The process mainly utilizes carbon from structural carbohydrates in a three-step process: pretreatment, saccharification and final fermentation [1]. Year-round feedstock availability is among the uncertainties impeding cellulosic biofuel production [2,3]. Conservation of whole crop biomass as silage is a promising method to ensure year-round feedstock availability [4]. The proposed decentralization of biofuel production through small-scale farm production [5] to provide cleaner, renewable and environment friendly energy for the farming activities could be achieved through the use of ensiled feedstocks from forage crops. Ensilage conserves the biomass quality through anaerobic microbial fermentation. Pretreatment in biofuel production process is essential for biomass delignification and decrystallization to facilitate subsequent enzymatic or acid
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