Effect of Ammoniated Fiber Explosion Combined with H2O2Pretreatment on the Hydrogen Production Capacity of Herbaceous and Woody Waste

Abstract

An appropriate pretreatment process is an important part of the preparation of biomass energy from agricultural and forestry waste. Compared to physical and chemical pretreatments alone, the combined ammoniated fiber explosion (AFEX) + hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) pretreatment process can significantly improve the lignin degradation rate and saccharification efficiency, thus improving the hydrogen production capacity during medium-temperature dark fermentation. This study showed that the combined pretreatment increased the saccharification efficiency of herbaceous, hardwood, and softwood biomass by 58.7, 39.5, and 20.6% and the corresponding gas production reached 145.49, 80.75, and 57.52 mL/g, respectively. In addition, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that AFEX + H2O2 disrupted the structure of the feedstock and was more favorable for lignin removal. Soluble metabolites indicated that AFEX + H2O2 pretreatment enhanced the butyrate metabolic pathway of the substrate and biohydrogen generation and increased the levels of extracellular polymers and microbial community structure.