Building an operational framework for pretreatment corn stover via sulfamic acid/NaCl and application

The profitability and sustainability of future biorefineries are dependent on efficient feedstock use. Therefore, it is essential to improve the lignocellulosic utilization efficiency when using lignocellulosic biomass. In this research, a novel corn stover (CS) pretreatment process was established and the effectiveness was verified via d-lactic acid fermentation. The results indicated that after pretreatment with 4% sulfamic acid and 3% sodium chloride solutions (SA/NaCl) at 80 °C for 60 min, and enzymatic hydrolysis with 20 FPU/g cellulase for 72 h, the glucose concentration was14.57 g/L, the cellulose transformation rate was 97.56%, and 56.93% of the solid recovery rate. The concentration of d-lactic acid reached 45 g/L after fermentation for 72 h at 42 °C. In conclusion, SA/NaCl was a safe to use, easy to transport, and more promising CS pretreatment catalyst than sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.