Comparison of various pretreatments for ethanol production enhancement from solid residue after rumen fluid digestion of rice straw

•Residual carbohydrates were recovered from digested residue to produce ethanol.•Ball milling pretreatment was effective for digested residue pretreatment.•Decrease of particle size and crystallinity were the major pretreatment mechanisms.•Maximum total energy was achieved from the integrated system at 2.5% solid content.

The rumen digested residue of rice straw contains high residual carbohydrates, which makes it a potential cellulosic ethanol feedstock. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of applying microwave assisted alkali (MAP), ultrasound assisted alkali (UAP), and ball milling pretreatment (BMP) to enhance ethanol production from two digested residues (2.5%-DR and 10%-DR) after rumen fluid digestion of rice straw at 2.5% and 10.0% solid content. Results revealed that 2.5%-DR and 10%-DR had a cellulose content of 36.4% and 41.7%, respectively. MAP and UAP improved enzymatic hydrolysis of digested residue by removing the lignin and hemicellulose, while BMP by decreasing the particle size and crystallinity. BMP was concluded as the suitable pretreatment, resulting in an ethanol yield of 116.65 and 147.42 mg g−1 for 2.5%-DR and 10%-DR, respectively. The integrated system including BMP for digested residue at 2.5% solid content achieved a maximum energy output of 7010 kJ kg−1.

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