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Highlights • Combined ultrasound-acid pretreatment improved H 2 yield of grass by 311.7%. • The combined pretreatment improved the substrate utilization efficiency. • The combined pretreatment induced a more efficient fermentation pathway. • More enrichment of Clostridium contributed to the improvement in H 2 production. Abstract In this study, the dilute acid pretreatment combined with ultrasound was applied to improve fermentative hydrogen production from grass. The experimental results indicated that SCOD and soluble carbohydrate contents of grass was improved by 98.6% and 236.9% after the combined treatment, respectively. Surface morphology (SEM and AFM) and crystallinity analysis revealed that the combined pretreatment process could effectively destroyed the biomass structure and increased their surface area. Owing to the increased soluble organics proportion and better enzymatic accessibility of residual solids, the hydrogen yield reached 42.2 mL/g-dry grass after the combined treatment, which was 311.7%, 190.0% and 35.0% higher in comparison with the control, individual ultrasound and acid pretreated groups, respectively. Meanwhile, the combined treatment also increased the substrate utilization efficiency and induced a more efficient fermentation pathway. Bacterial community analysis revealed that more enrichment of Clostridium and less enrichment of Enterococcus contributed to the improved hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of standing wave produced by single-frequency ultrasonic pretreatment, the dual-frequency ultrasound was applied to pretreat the corn stalk. In this paper, the mechanism of dual-frequency ultrasound was studied, and digital simulation results showed that the cavitation of dual-frequency ultrasound was more violent than that of single-frequency ultrasound, and its energy was more efficient. The anaerobic fermentation of corn stalk that was pretreated by dual-frequency ultrasound combined with alkali (Group 1) lasted for 53 days. The results showed that the cumulative biogas yield of Group 1 was 11.1%, 28.2% and 56.6% respectively higher than that of single-frequency ultrasound combined with alkali pretreatment (Group 2), alkali pretreatment (Group 3) and without pretreatment (Group 4). The TS removal rate of Group1 was 9.9%, 25.0% and 71.4% respectively higher than that of other pretreatment samples, and the VS removal rate was 7.4%, 28.9% and 77.1% respectively higher than that of other group samples. The net energy of Group 1 was 32.2%, 114.9% and 19.7% higher than that of Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the combined ionizing radiation-acid pretreatment process was firstly applied to enhance hydrogen fermentation of grass waste. Results showed that the combined pretreatment synergistically enhanced hydrogen fermentation of grass waste. The SCOD and soluble polysaccharide contents of grass waste increased by 1.6 and 2.91 times after the combined pretreatment, respectively. SEM observation and crystallinity test showed the combined pretreatment effectively disrupted the grass structure. Owing to the more favorable substrate conditions, the hydrogen yield achieved 68 mL/g-dry grass added after the combined pretreatment, which was 161.5%, 112.5% and 28.3% higher than those from raw, ionizing radiation pretreated and acid pretreated grass waste, respectively. The VS removal also increased from 13.9% to 25.6% by the combined pretreatment. Microbial community analysis showed that the abundance of dominant hydrogen producing genus Clostridium sensu stricto 1 increased from 37.9% to 69.4% after the combined pretreatment, which contributed to more efficient hydrogen fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, individual pretreatments (acid and ultrasonic) and a combination of these pretreatments were optimized to enhance the efficiency of dark fermentative hydrogen production (DFHP) from microalgal biomass. The experimental results show that the maximum H2 production performance of 42.1mL H2/g dry cell weight (dcw) was predicted at 0.79% (v/w) HCl and at a specific energy input (SEI) of 49,600kJ/kg dcw in the combined pretreatment, while it was limited in both individual pretreatments. Repeated batch testing of the predicted optimal conditions revealed that the combined pretreatment conditions for DFHP from microalgal biomass were successfully optimized by increasing the solubilization of the feedstock and by reducing the formation of the toxic 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present work, a combined (acid + thermal) pretreatment was applied for the enhanced fermentative H2 production (FHP) from Laminaria japonica. Various pretreatment conditions including HCl concentrations, heating temperatures, and reaction times were optimized via response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design (BBD). Through regression analysis, it was found that H2 yield was well fitted by a quadratic polynomial equation (R 2 = 0.97), and the HCl concentration was the most significant factor influencing FHP. The desirable pretreatment conditions found were HCl concentration of 4.8%, temperature of 93 °C, and reaction time of 23 min, under which H2 yield reached to 159.6 mL H2/g dry cell weight (dcw). The main organic acids produced were acetic and butyric acids that related closely with H2 production. The concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a byproduct formed during the pretreatment process, showed an inverse relationship with H2 yield, indicating that pretreatment conditions for the H2 production from L. japonica were successfully optimized, by increasing the hydrolysis rate of the feedstock and also reducing the formation of HMF. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pretreatment technology is a prerequisite to facilitate the release of sugars from a lignocellulosic biomass prior to fermentation. Recently, some pretreatment methods have been tried with ionic liquids, but they were still expensive and unpractical. In this study, an efficient pretreatment method using ammonia and ionic liquid was developed for the recovery of bio-digestible cellulose from a lignocellulosic byproduct, rice straw, and the increase of ionic liquid utilization. The combined use of ammonia and ionic liquid ([Emim]Ac) treatment exhibited a synergy effect for rice straw with 82% of the cellulose recovery and 97% of the enzymatic glucose conversion. This cooperative effect showed over 90% of the glucose conversion even with a reduced enzyme usage and incubation time. The ionic liquid was successfully recycled more than 20 times. The 20th-recycled ([Emim]Ac) showed 74% of the cellulose recovery and 78% of the glucose conversion to rice straw. Compared with the conventional pretreatment, our combined method for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment was an economical and eco-friendly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]