Cellulase and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were added to Avicel cellulose and solids containing 56% cellulose and 28% lignin from dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of corn stover. Little BSA was adsorbed on Avicel cellulose, while pretreated corn stover solids adsorbed considerable amounts of this protein. On the other hand, cellulase was highly adsorbed on both substrates. Adding a 1% concentrat...

Both the current corn starch to ethanol industry and the emerging lignocellulosic biofuels industry view recycling of spent fermentation broth or stillage as a method to reduce fresh water use. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of recycling stillage on conversion of corn stover to ethanol. Sugars in a dilute-acid pretreated corn stover hydrolysate were fermented to ethano...

Corn stover was pretreated with lime and shock, a mechanical process that uses a shockwave to alter the biomass structure. Two pretreatments (lime-only and lime + shock) were evaluated using enzymatic hydrolysis, batch mixed-culture fermentations, and continuous countercurrent mixed-culture fermentation. In a 120-h enzymatic hydrolysis, shock pretreatment increased the glucan digestibility of s...

Corn (Zea mays L.) stover is a primary biofuel feedstock and its expanded use could help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and net CO2 emissions. Excessive stover removal may, however, negatively impact near-surface soil properties within a short period after removal. We assessed changes in soil crust strength, bulk density (rb), and water content over a 1-yr period following a systematic removal...

In order to investigate changes in substrate chemical and physical features after pretreatment, several characterizations were performed on untreated (UT) corn stover and poplar and their solids resulting pretreatments by ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), ammonia recycled percolation (ARP), controlled pH, dilute acid, flowthrough, lime, and SO(2) technologies. In addition to measuring the chemica...

BACKGROUND Pretreatment is an essential step in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass for bio-ethanol production. The dominant concern in this step is how to decrease the high cost of pretreatment while achieving a high sugar yield. Fungal pretreatment of biomass was previously reported to be effective, with the advantage of having a low energy requirement and requiring no application of addition...

Occurrence of mold was visually monitored for 26days on samples of major anatomical components of corn stover maintained at several storage temperatures (T) and water activities (a(w)). Glass desiccators with saturated salt solutions placed in temperature controlled chambers provided simulated storage conditions with temperatures ranging from 10 degrees C to 40 degrees C and water activities ra...

Short harvest window of corn (Zea mays) stover necessitates its storage before utilization; however, there is not enough work towards exploring the fast pyrolysis behavior of stored biomass. This study investigated the yields and the physicochemical properties (proximate and ultimate analyses, higher heating values and acidity) of the fast pyrolysis products obtained from single-pass stover and...