BIOMASS PRETREATMENT AS A KEY PROCESS IN BIOETHANOL PRODUCTIONS: A REVIEW

Abstract

Solid wastes like lignocellulosic materials have proven to be of immense benefit to the production of bioethanol and have given a headway towards the deviation from the traditional use of fossil fuel which is has been a long-time primary source of fuel and energy globally. The transformation of lignocellulosic wastes into bioethanol is of importance to the environment. The recalcitrant nature of this substance, owing to the presence of lignin which serves as a deterrent, making it hard to access cellulose and hemicellulose, which are later converted to bioethanol, has raised much concern for researchers. Various strategies for feed preparation for overcoming this problem have been identified by researchers in the literature, including chemical, physical, and physiochemical approaches with enzymes. This review aims to bring together recent advances made by researchers in different pretreatment methods in optimizing the production of bioethanol. The advantages, disadvantages and the specific conditions for these pretreatment methods are also discussed in this review. Embedded in this review is also a report of the usage of some of these feed preparation strategies and the amount of bioethanol that was obtained by each process using different feedstock.