ABSTRACT
Pretreatment must meet the following requirements: (1) improve the formation of sugars or the ability to subsequently form sugars by hydrolysis, (2) avoid the degradation or loss of carbohydrates, (3) avoid the formation of byproducts that are inhibitory to the subsequent hydrolysis and fermentation processes, and (4) be cost-effective. [1]
300 During the last years, a variety of pretreatment methods that change the
physical and chemical structure of the lignocellulosic biomass and improve hydrolysis rates have been developed. Many methods have been shown to result in high sugar yields, above 90% of the theoretical yield for lignocellulosic biomasses such as woods, grasses, corn, and so on. In this chapter, we give an overview of the various available pretreatment technologies and we review the recent literature on the use of these technologies for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass.
