Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulosic Material Derived from Municipal Wastewater Treatment Sludges for Ethanol Production

摘要

This study focused on the hydrolysis of lignocellulose extracted from municipal wastewater treatment sludges for the purpose of investigating low-cost feedstocks for ethanol production, while providing an environmentally-sound alternative solid waste management strategy. Primary, activated and digested sludges were subjected to various pre-treatments to facilitate and enhance subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Half of the pre-treated samples were dried and grinded, while the other half was used as is after the pre-treatment. The wet primary sludge yielded the highest glucose conversions. When wet primary sludge without pre-treatment was hydrolyzed at 40℃ and an enzyme loading of 800 units/g substrate, 31.1 ± 2.7% was converted to glucose in 24 hours. This was increased to 54.2 ± 4.0% when HC1 and KOH pre-treatments were employed.