Wet Air Oxidation Pretreatment of Mixed Lignocellulosic Biomass to Enhance Enzymatic Convertibility

The present work explores the potential of wet air oxidation (WAO) for pretreatment of mixed lignocellulosic biomass to enhance enzymatic convertibility. Rice husk and wheat straw mixture (1:1 mass ratio) was used as a model mixed lignocellulosic biomass. Post-WAO treatment, cellulose recovery in the solid fraction was in the range of 86% to 99%, accompanied by a significant increase in enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose present in the solid fraction. The highest enzymatic conversion efficiency, 63% (by weight), was achieved for the mixed biomass pretreated at $195^{\circ}C$, 5 bar, 10 minutes compared to only 19% in the untreated biomass. The pretreatment under the aforesaid condition also facilitated 52% lignin removal and 67% hemicellulose solubilization. A statistical design of experiments on WAO process conditions was conducted to understand the effect of process parameters on pretreatment, and the predicted responses were found to be in close agreement with the experimental data. Enzymatic hydrolysis experiments with WAO liquid fraction as diluent showed favorable results with sugar enhancement up to $10.4gL^{-1}$.