Efficient biomass pretreatment using the White-rot Fungus Polyporus Brumalis.

摘要

Implementation of cheap and eco-friendly biomass pretreatment processes is necessary to develop sustainable biorefineries. In nature, white-rot basidiomycetes are able to degrade lignin efficiently and selectively and are thus of great interest in such bioprocesses. In this study, five basidiomycetes strains were evaluated for their ability to pretreat wheat straw under solid state fermentation. Fungal pretreatments were carried out in glass-column reactors under operating conditions approaching industrial practices. The pretreatment efficiency was evaluated through the quantification of dry weight losses and subsequent hydrolysis of the carbohydrate fraction by enzymatic cocktails. The highest lignin to cellulose losses ratio was obtained using a strain of Polyporus brumalis which exhibited high ligninolytic capabilities. This selectivity along with the low dry weight loss makes the pretreatment profitable by enhancing cellulose and hemicellulose conversion yields. Therefore P. brumalis can be viewed as a promising strain to pretreat lignocellulosic biomass for biorefinery applications.