Effect of Biological and Chemical Pre-treatment on the Hydrolysis of Corn Leaf.

Hydrolysis of corn leaf utilizing two treatment sequences was carried out in this study. The first treatment was chemical and involved subjecting the corn leaf to an alkaline pre-treatment and then to a smooth acid hydrolysis. The second consisted of biological delignification using the strain Trametes sp. 44 H88, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis using the enzymatic extract produced by Trichoderma sp. H88. The ligninolytic extract produced by Trametes sp. 44 H88 was used to detoxify the hydrolyzate. The results indicate that biological pre-treatment with delignification is more favorable and improves the subsequent hydrolysis, regardless of whether the hydrolysis is chemical or biological. The chemical treatment sequence obtained 80% conversion of monosaccharides, while the biological treatment sequence resulted in a 87% conversion rate. Finally, the use of the ligninolytic extract for the dephenolization of the hydrolyzate reduced the presence of compounds of phenolic origin by 23%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]