Evaluation of pretreatment methods in improving the enzymatic saccharification of cellulosic materials

The effectiveness of alkali, acid and chlorite pretreatment of lignocellulosic feedstocks for improving the enzymatic saccharification of cellulose has been evaluated. The feedstocks such as Corncob, Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara were pretreated with varied concentration of sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and sodium chlorite at 121 °C for 15–60 min. Among different methods used, chlorite pretreatment removed maximum lignin with ∼90% (w/w) residual holocellulose content in all the substrates tested. Moreover, irrespective of the substrates used, the chlorite treated substrates were enzymatically saccharified from 86.4% to 92.5% (w/w). While, the alkali treated substrates containing 66.0–76.0% (w/w) holocellulose could be enzymatically saccharified up to 55% (w/w). The acid pretreated substrates were found to contain almost 54–62% (w/w) holocellulose, which on enzymatic hydrolysis could result in 39.5–48% (w/w) saccharification.