Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206

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Fuel Processing Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fuproc

A review on the pretreatment of lignocellulose for high-value chemicals

Hongyan Chen, Jinbao Liu, Xing Chang, Daming Chen, Yuan Xue, Ping Liu, Hualin Lin ⁎, Sheng Han ⁎
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 201418, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Pretreatment is an important process to transform lignocellulosic biomass to high-value chemicals. This process
Received 29 June 2016 potentially provides economic sustainability, which is challenged by energy crisis and environmental pollution.
Received in revised form 17 November 2016 Pretreatment is mainly applied to improve the digestibility of cellulose by increasing enzyme accessibility. Differ-
Accepted 5 December 2016
ent lignocellulosic biomasses require various pretreatment processes and conditions depending on process con-
Available online 10 March 2017
figurations selected for subsequent hydrolysis and fermentation steps. In this article, studies on the pretreatment
Keywords:
of lignocellulose for high-value chemicals were reviewed. The relative advantages of various pretreatment pro-
Pretreatment process cesses, including physical, chemical, physicochemical, and biological methods, were also assessed in economic
Lignocellulose perspectives. Existing problems and development potential were also discussed. This review provides a theoret-
Chemicals ical basis for future research on lignocellulosic biomass for chemical applications.
© 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
2. Structure of lignocellulose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
3. Pretreatment methods and mechanisms for lignocellulose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
3.1. Physical pretreatment methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
3.1.1. Mechanical splintered pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
3.1.2. Microwave treatment pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
3.1.3. Ultrasonic treatment pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
3.1.4. High-energy electron radiation pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
3.1.5. High-temperature pyrolysis pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
3.2. Chemical pretreatment methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.2.1. Acid pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.2.2. Alkali pretreatment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.2.3. Oxidation pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.2.4. Ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.2.5. Organosolv pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.3. Physicochemical pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.3.1. Steam explosion pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.3.2. AFEX pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
3.3.3. CO2 explosion pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
3.3.4. SO2 explosion pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
3.3.5. Electrical catalysis pretreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
3.4. Biological pretreatment method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
3.5. Combined pretreatment method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
4. Existing problems of pretreatment lignocellulose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
5. Conclusions and prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

⁎ Corresponding authors at: School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Haiquan Road 100, 201418 Shanghai, China.
E-mail addresses: lhl6534@163.com (H. Lin), hansheng654321@sina.com (S. Han).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2016.12.007
0378-3820/© 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.
 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
1. Introduction
With the rapid development of our society, the current environmen-
tal, economic and social concerns regarding sustainability energy have
pushed researchers toward finding new cleaner, renewable and sustain-
able energy resource [1,2]. As we all known that fossil fuels are com-
monly used nonrenewable and can case negative effects on the
environment with posing new risks to humans [3,4], which can no lon-
ger satisfied the demand of various chemicals for us. However, in con-
trast to fossil fuels, lignocelluloses which commonly obtained from
four major source (forest residues (woods, branches, foliage, etc.), agri-
cultural residues (corn stover, rice straw, etc.), energy crops (switch
grass, yellow poplar, etc.), and cellulosic waste (such as municipal
solid waste and food waste) is an abundant and cost-effective renew-
able resource with production of 15– 17 × 1010 Mt. annually [5–10].
And most of it can be converted into various different forms high-
value chemicals such as ethanol fuels, bio-oil, acids, saccharides, phe-
nols, aldehydes, xylitol, and cellulose acetate, which is correlated with
sustainability and low-carbon life (Fig. 1) [11–18]. It has a good applica-
tion prospect for alleviating energy and environmental deterioration to
improve economic and social sustainability. However, majority ligno-
cellulosic biomasses are discarded or combusted directly up to now,
which not only be wasted, but also case pollution to environment [5,
19]. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) predicted that the utilization of biomass resource may reach
half of the total resource usage in the world by 2050 [20].
Biomass is the most logical carbon-based feedstock obtained from
living organisms such as plants, animals, and microorganisms [10].
Among biomasses, lignocellulose is the most common, which is com-
posed of various polysaccharide celluloses, hemicelluloses, phenol-
aldehyde polymer lignin, and soluble polar and non-polar substances.
Because of its complex structure, the conversion technology of lignocel-
luloses materials to energy is costly and ineffective up to now [21–25].
Besides, the compositions of various lignocelluloses are different, it is
necessary to understand the structure of it to design suitable pretreat-
ment, which can be improve the effectiveness of lignocellulose usage
and reduce its costs [26,27]. Current studies on pretreatment mainly
focus on identifying, evaluating, developing, and demonstrating poten-
tial approaches for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis that requires short
bioconversion period and low enzyme concentration [28]. Few review
articles [1,2,21,22,28–32] have summarized and analyzed various
Fig. 1. Different forms of energy obtained through different pretreatment methods.
197
lignocellulose pretreatment processes to present recommendations for
future development. This review also provides a valuable reference on
synthesis of cellulose acetate, cellulosic ethanol, and other similar
materials.
2. Structure of lignocellulose
Lignocelluloses mainly consist of 40–50% cellulose, 25–30% hemicel-
lulose, 15–20% lignin, and traces of pectin, nitrogen compounds, and in-
organic ingredients [33,34]. Cellulose, which is a linear syndiotactic
(alternating spatial arrangement of the side chains) polymer of glucose
linked together by β-(l → 4)-glycosidic bonds, is the most abundant
polymer on earth, has many beneficial properties such as biocompatibil-
ity, stereoregularity, hydrophilicity, and reactive hydroxyl groups. This
polymer is insoluble in water unless at high temperature or with the
presence of certain catalyst. Its distinct polymer chains in orderly bun-
dled arrangement and highly crystalline structure cause its stable prop-
erties, and its structure determines the framework of cell wall.
Hemicellulose is a mixture composed of different polysaccharides, in-
cluding straight and branched chain ones, to connect different numbers
of acetyl and methyl. This polysaccharide has a low degree of polymer-
ization, and without crystalline regions, so it is relatively easily degrad-
ed into monosaccharides, such as arabinose, xylose, galactose, fucose,
mannose, dextrose, or glucuronide. Lignin is a complex hydrophobic,
cross-linked aromatic polymer that interferes with the hydrolysis pro-
cess. It has a three-dimensional heterogeneous polycrystalline reticulat-
ed polymer, which belongs to polyphenolic compounds. Such polymer
is formed by phenyl propane structural units via ether linkages and
carbon–carbon bond connection, and it lacks regularity and orderliness
of the repeating units [35–38] (Fig. 2). The high crystallization zone; dif-
ferent binding forces between cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin mol-
ecules; high degree of polymerization; pore structure on the surface of
cellulose; and overwrite protection effect by lignin and hemicellulose
determine that the cell walls are stable and difficult to be degraded, as
shown in Table 1. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin form the plant
cell wall with a highly ordered crystal structure, so the degradation of
any class of ingredients will be subjected to the constraints of other in-
gredients. Thus, lignocellulose must be pretreated to degrade the net-
work structure of lignin and improve the efficiency of cellulose
utilization [39–41]. Moreover, reducing the lignin matrix content is in
198 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206

Fig. 2. Structure unit of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.

favor of microorganisms and cellulase because lignin and its derivatives
have inhibitory effect on them. (See Table 2.)
Pretreatment process changes the microstructure, macrostructure,
and chemical composition of lignocellulose. And it also alters the natural
macromolecular structure of lignocellulose during decomposition to be-
come susceptible to microbial degradation [42]. In this process, lignin
and hemicellulose which surround cellulose are broken down, lignin is
removed, hemicellulose is degraded, and the crystalline structure of cel-
lulose is changed to improve the availability and release of cellulose.
Such process also promotes enzyme and substrate interaction to im-
prove efficiency, and stimulates sugar hydrolysis [43–45]. Besides, the
pretreatment standards are the following [12,28]: (1) Avoid the losses
and degradation of reductive sugar; (2) Develop the progress of benefi-
cial to subsequent cellulose or the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic sugar fer-
mentation; (3) Avoid harmful byproducts, which are not conducive to
subsequent fermentation and saccharification processes; (4) Avoid the
use of chemical reagents polluting the environment or highly corroding
the equipment; (5) Reduce the generation of solid residues, or fully uti-
lize the material to avoid waste or pollution; and (6) Control costs and
assess economic feasibility.
3. Pretreatment methods and mechanisms for lignocellulose
Pretreatment is the crucial step in the conversion of energy from lig-
nocelluloses, which provide the separation or solubilization of the
complex components of lignocellulose. And the choice of pretreatment
should consider the compatibility of feedstocks, enzymes and organ-
isms. This process generally can be classified into physical, chemical,
physical-chemical, biological methods and their combinations (Fig. 3).
In general, physical and chemical pretreatments results are relatively
good, but equipment requirement is strict and linked to severe pollu-
tion. Biological method consumes less energy and causes less pollution
than other methods, but it costly and need long time, and enzyme activ-
ities in lignocellulose decomposition are low.
3.1. Physical pretreatment methods
Commonly, physical pretreatment methods include mechanical
crushing, microwave treatment, ultrasonic treatment, and high-energy
electron radiation method. These methods cause less environmental
pollution and the process is also relatively simple, but it requires rela-
tively high energy and power, which increasing the cost of production.
3.1.1. Mechanical splintered pretreatment
Mechanical splintered method includes dry crushing, wet crushing,
vibrating ball mill grinding, and compression. This method is commonly
used before other methods to make the subsequent process easier and
more effective [46–48]. The particle size of lignocellulosic feedstock
can be reduced to expand the contact surface of the material with sub-
sequent acid or enzyme according to mechanical splintered method.

Table 1
Structure and chemical composition of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.

Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin

Structural unit D-Glucopyranose D-xylose, Mannose, Galactose, L-arabinose, Glucuronic acid Syringyl, Guaiacyl, Para-hydroxy-phenyl
Bond join of structural unit β-1.4-glycosidic linkage β-1.4-Glycosidic linkage, C–C, R–O–R′
β-1.2(or 3, 6)-Glycosidic linkage
Polymeric level 1000–10,000 ≤200 4000
Polymer β-1.4-Glucan Glucomannan, Galactoglucomannan, Xylan G-,GS-, and GSH-type
Structure Crystalline and amorphous area Few crystalline area, Amorphous, non-uniform, nonlinear, 3D polymer
Majority is amorphous area
Binding forces Hydrogen bond Chemical bond Chemical bond
 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206 199

Table 2
The comparison of different pretreatment methods for lignocelluloses.

Pretreatment methods Advantages Disadvantages

Mechanical splintered
Microwave
Physical pretreatment Ultrasonic
High-energy electron radiation
High-temperature pyrolysis
Reduce particle size and cellulose crystallinity
Simple operation, energy-efficient, short time
Improve accessibility and reactivity of cellulose
Reduce cellulose polymerization degree
Decompose cellulose rapidly
Cannot remove lignin and hemicelluloses, high energy
High cost
Negative to enzymatic hydrolysis
High cost
Energy consumption, low productivity

Concentrated acid
Dilute acid
Alkali pretreatment
Chemical pretreatment
Oxidation pretreatment
Organosolv pretreatment
Ionic liquid pretreatment
High sugar conversion
Fast and don not need recycle acid
Room temperature, destroy lignin
Environmental, remove lignin effectively
Obtain pure lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses
Environmental, large temperature range
High toxic and corrosive, corrosive equipment, high cost
High temperature and pressure, formation of inhibitors
Less sugar degradation
High cost,
High cost, certain effects on environment and fermentation
High cost

Steam explosion Lignin transformation, hemicelluloses solubilization, High temperature and pressure
Cost-effective
AFEX method CO2 explosion increase surface area of cellulose, absence of inhibition High cost, Not efficient for raw high lignin content material
Physicochemical
substances formed
pretreatment
Electrical catalysis Not produce inhibition compounds, cost-effective, High pressure, do not affect lignin and hemicelluloses
Increases surface area, remove lignin effective
Cleanliness, Lower efficient

Degrades lignin and hemicellulose

Biological pretreatment – Low rate of hydrolysis
Low energy consumption

Consequently, the subsequent enzymatic or acid hydrolysis is promot-
ed. However, this process cannot remove lignin and hemicellulose,
and its cost is relatively high [49–52]. Yoo [53] applied thermal mechan-
ical extrusion pretreatment on soybean hulls, and they compared this
pretreatment with two traditional methods using dilute acid (1% sulfu-
ric acid) and alkali (1% sodium hydroxide). The enzymatic hydrolysis of
the xylose yield of soybean hulls after acid, alkali, and hot extrusion pre-
treatments of soybean hulls is increased by 69.6%, 128.7%, and 132.2%,
respectively. The treatment has significantly improved the xylose yield
with the mechanical splintered process. Zhang [54] used the synergistic
effect of mechanical crushing and metal salts on pretreating lignocellu-
losic biomass. They also compared the effects of metal salt with different
oxidation numbers and mechanical crushing pretreatment on polymer-
ization and crystallinity of biomass. They concluded that the synergistic
effect of Al(NO3)3 and mechanical crushing is the most desirable among
all other biomass pretreatment methods. Chen [55] used bagasse as raw
material and applied mechanical activation pretreatment to produce
cellulose acetate. They produced cellulose acetate with a substitution

Fig. 3. Schematic of the pretreatment process for producing chemicals.

200 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
degree of 2.81 from bagasse, which undergoes 60 min of activation pre-
treatment. Considering its high energy demand, this process is not
economical.
3.1.2. Microwave treatment pretreatment
Conventional acid or alkali pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass
under high temperature and high pressure condition has been very lim-
ited because it requires relatively high energy. Nonetheless, microwave
technology can improve cellulose accessibility and reactivity. This tech-
nology has simple operation, is energy-efficient, and can heat in short
time under NTP. Moreover, it has been successfully applied in chemical
reactions, and several studies on the use of microwave on fiber raw ma-
terial pretreatment have been carried out [56–62]. However, the cost of
equipment investment is high. After microwave treatment, the adapt-
ability of lignocellulosic feedstock to enzymes is enhanced, and the sub-
sequent effect of enzyme activity is increased. Kitchaiya [63] applied
microwave pretreatment on plant fiber raw material, considering that
its hydrolysis requires high temperature, and the product will restrain
downstream alcoholic fermentation. Microwave pretreatment on
plant fiber material must be performed under a high temperature
(N160 °C) because almost no effect is observed when the temperature
is below 100 °C (including 100 °C). De [64] used microwave irradiation
in the presence of glycerol under the conditions for bagasse pretreat-
ment. They found that the physical-chemical properties of raw mate-
rials considerably change before and after the pretreatment, and a
large amount of fermentable sugar are released during enzymatic hy-
drolysis. Hu [65] used switchgrass as raw material, which was soaked
in different concentrations of alkali solution (0.05%–0.3% (w/w)). Micro-
wave heating of auxiliary base was used to pretreat the raw material be-
fore cellulose hydrolysis. This process obtains a high yield of
58.7 g/100 g (mass of sugar: mass of switchgrass) under optimum con-
ditions, which is 99% of the total sugar amount. Consequently, the sugar
yield increases by 70%. Binod [57] pretreated bagasse with microwave
under a short period, and studied the effect of microwave-acid,
microwave-alkali, and microwave-alkali-acid method pretreatment
methods on enzymatic saccharification and lignin removal. And his re-
sults pointed out that microwave-alkali-acid pretreatment can improve
the yield of fermentable sugars, and the microwave-alkali pretreatment
process has significant effect on lignin removal.
3.1.3. Ultrasonic treatment pretreatment
Ultrasound can open crystalline regions of cellulose, decompose lig-
nin molecules, and significantly improve accessibility and chemical re-
activity of cellulose. However, its effect on the fine structure of
cellulose is limited. Ultrasonic treatment can decompose hemicellulose,
thereby causing a decrease in fiber-to-surface area ratio, which has neg-
ative influence on subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. To date, relatively
few scientists focused on this research field. Nevertheless, some studies
have reported that ultrasonic pretreatment of biomass can effectively
improve the saccharification of cellulose [66–68]. Zhang [69] compared
the differences of raw material structure and subsequent saccharifica-
tion rate before and after ultrasonic pretreatment of lignocellulosic bio-
mass. They pointed out that the ultrasonic vibration energy is too low to
change the surface conformation of the raw material particle. However,
the ultrasound-assisted-alkali pretreatment can break hydrogen bonds
between molecules of lignocellulosic and lower its crystallinity. Conse-
quently, the lignin degradation and enzymatic saccharification rates
are effectively improved. Furthermore, mechanical impacts, which are
produced by the collapse of cavitation bubbles, allow enzymatic action
on the surface of solid substrates. In addition, the maximum effects of
cavitation occur at 50 °C, which is the optimum temperature for many
enzymes. The introducing of ultrasound into enzyme processing can
significantly enhances the transport of enzyme macromolecules toward
the substrate surface via cavitation effects, which can lead to high enzy-
matic hydrolysis.
3.1.4. High-energy electron radiation pretreatment
High-energy radiation treatment is performed via emitting rays at
the raw material. The advantages of this method include but not are lim-
ited to the following: reduction in the degree of polymerization of cellu-
lose, loose cellulose structure, improved hydrolysis and conversion rates
of raw materials, increased moisture, promoted subsequent enzymatic
hydrolysis, less pollution, and environmental friendly. High-intensity
radiation results in high degree of damage to cellulose structure; none-
theless, high-energy electron radiation method is costly, thus large-
scale industrial production is difficult [70]. Ota [71] used UV-pulsed
laser and electron beam for pretreatment of bamboo and apple pow-
ders. The pretreated samples underwent enzymolysis for 3 h under
37 °C. The results showed UV-pulsed laser pretreatment increases the
subsequent enzymatic fermentation rate by 38%, and the electron
beam pretreatment increases sugar yield rate by 40%. Moreover, the
combination of radiation and chemical methods more significantly in-
creases the amount of degradation than that of individual radiation or
chemical method application. Yang [72] combined γ-rays with mechan-
ical grinding to pretreat wheat straw and obtained a glucose yield of
10.24%.
3.1.5. High-temperature pyrolysis pretreatment
Pyrolysis process is divided into pyrolysis and liquid hot water de-
composition. During pyrolysis, the cellulose can decompose rapidly
when heated to above 300 °C, thereby resulting in the release of gaseous
products and production of coke-like residue. Additionally, the speed of
cellulose decomposition is relatively slow at low temperature. Investi-
gations showed that when the residual of pyrolysis still undergoes
acid hydrolysis (0.5 mol/L H2SO4, 97 °C, 2.5 h), 80%–85% of the cellulose
is converted to reducing sugar, of which N 50% is hydrolyzed to glucose
[73]. When zinc is added to hydrolysate as catalyst, the reaction can be
carried out at low temperatures, and the hydrolysis reaction rate will in-
crease if proper amount of oxygen is added.
Liquid hot water pretreatment mainly relies on the splitting decom-
position of O-acetyl and uronic acid substitutions on hemicellulose,
which produces acetic acid and other organic acids. These acids promote
hydrolysis of the raw material form oligosaccharides, in which hydroly-
sis efficiency is relatively high. On the other hand, polysaccharide will
further hydrolyze and degrade into furfural and other aldehydes in the
presence of acid, which will limit microbial fermentation [74]. Hence,
the pH value can be maintained between 5 and 7 via adding alkali,
such as KOH, to control the pretreatment reactions and prevent raw ma-
terial from hydrolyzing into monosaccharides [45]. The reaction is gen-
erally at 200–230 °C with high pressure, where water can penetrate into
the lignocellulose to hydrolyze cellulose and remove hemicellulose.
Generally, material can be dissolved 40%–60% for reaction 2–15 min,
and 4%–22% cellulose, 35%–60% lignin and almost all hemicellulose
were removed. However, this treatment can only be carried out with
relatively low solid content (≤20%), thus resulting in large energy con-
sumption and relatively low productivity [75]. There are three main
types of reactor, including downstream, counter flow, and cross flow.
Among them, cross flow reactor has more advantages as follows:
(1) No additional acidic additive is needed during the process, hence re-
ducing or avoiding the use of acid neutralizers or modifiers; (2) Pre-
crushing of material is not needed because it will split itself when
boiled; (3) The cellulose inside the material provides a good hydrolysis
result after treatment, and the hemicellulose shows a relatively high
sugar conversion rate; and (4) The liquid processing solution is rich
with effective components [76,77]. Rogalinski [78] pretreated rye
straw with hot water for 750 s under 215 °C and 5 M Pa. They found
that 98% of hemicellulose and 7.9% of cellulose are dissolved. Subse-
quently, the residual solid cellulose undergoes enzymatic hydrolysis,
and the sugar yield is 92%. Hemicellulase is added to the solution after
being cooled down for enzymatic hydrolysis process, obtained the
sugar yield with 95%.
 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
3.2. Chemical pretreatment methods
3.2.1. Acid pretreatment
In acid pretreatment, inorganic acids (sulfuric, nitric, hydrochloric,
and phosphoric acids) and organic acids (formic, acetic, and propionic
acids) are used [79–83]. Its functions mainly depend on the separation
and removal of lignin, and hydrolyzation of vegetable fibers. Hence,
the hydrolyzation mainly refers to the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemi-
cellulose. Cellulose is a kind of hexosan, and hemicellulose is mainly
pentosane. Their chemical reaction equation is presented by the follow-
ing equations:
C6 H10 O5 þnH2 O→nC6 H12 O6 ð1Þ
ðC5 H8 O4 Þm þmH2 O→mC5 H10 O5 ð2Þ
The macromolecular crystal structure of cellulose seriously affects its
hydrolysis resistance, and hydrolysis does not occur unless in the pres-
ence of a catalysis at room temperature. Currently, only the concentrat-
ed or dilute acid pretreatment for lignocellulose is reported in written
documents.
Inorganic acid pretreatment method can be divided into concentrat-
ed and dilute acid methods. Concentrated acid treatment refers to the
use of acid with concentration above 30% for hydrolysis of lignocellulose
into monosaccharide, with the reaction temperature within 100 °C for
2–10 h with one atmosphere pressure. Lignocellulose is converted into
cellulose dextrin, and becomes susceptible to hydrolysis after concen-
trated acid treatment. However, hydrolysis carried out in concentrated
acid is relatively slow. Hence, lignocellulose is commonly separated
from acid after the concentrated acid treatment and subsequently dilute
acid hydrolysis is used. Furthermore, majority of concentrated acids are
highly toxic and corrosive, so the acid must be recovered, and the equip-
ment should have acid corrosion resistance [84,85]. Besides, it causes
high operational and maintenance costs. All of the above discussions
are important drawbacks of concentrated acid pretreatments, which re-
duce the interest of applying it at commercial scale. Nevertheless, the
sugar conversion rate of this method is relatively high. Both cellulose
and hemicellulose can reach a conversion rate higher than 90%.
Dilute acid treatment generally refers to the hydrolysis of cellulose
and hemicellulose to monosaccharide with acid concentration equals
or b 10% as catalyst. The reaction conditions are at a temperature of
100–240 °C with a pressure higher than 10 atm for a few seconds to sev-
eral minutes [47]. Dilute acid treatment is a fast reaction process and
does not need to be recycled acid, which is suitable for continuous pro-
duction. Nonetheless, the method needs relatively high temperature
and pressure, and the resulting degradation products have negative in-
fluence on lignocellulose fermentation. Moreover, the acid must be neu-
tralized for a relatively long time before sugar fermentation, and the
ability to remove lignin is poor even with high energy; thus, this treat-
ment needs the subsequent acid treatment process [86]. Compared
with hydrochloric, phosphoric, and nitric acids, lignocellulose pretreat-
ment has higher hydrolysis yield with diluted sulfuric acid, which is the
most studied acid [87]. KR [88] studied the effect of cellulose saccharifi-
cation with wine dregs via pretreatment with 0.5 M sulfuric acid, and
found that such pretreatment has positive promotion effect on enzyme
saccharification and ethanol production. Saha [86] demonstrated the
high saccharification yield (76.5%) with 0.75% v/v of H2SO4 at 121 °C
for 1 h with wheat straw. Additionally, Agu [89] reported that many fac-
tors, such as raw material grinding degree, liquid-solid ratio, tempera-
ture, time, and type and concentration of acid can affect acid
hydrolysis. Ballesteros [90] used the response surface method to opti-
mize the study on the conditions for dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment
of artichoke. They investigated the influences of temperature, sulfuric
acid concentration, and solid-liquid ratio on the yield of xylose. The re-
sults showed that sulfuric acid concentration and temperature have a
significant effect on xylose yield, whereas that of solid concentration is
201
negligible. With acid concentration 0.1%, and solid concentration 7.5%
for 180 °C, the xylose yield reaches 90%, and furfural production is
low. This pretreatment process typically generates lower degradation
products than concentrated acid pretreatment.
Some organic acids can also enhance the hydrolysis of cellulose.
Kootstra [91] compared the pretreatment effect and the formation of
sugar degradation compounds during pretreatment with maleic,
fumaric, and sulfuric acids. Organic acids present a high pretreatment
efficiency with wheat straw, and lesser amount of furfural is obtained
than that in pretreatment with sulfuric acid.
3.2.2. Alkali pretreatment
The alkali pretreatment process mainly depends on the solubility
performance of lignin in the alkali solution. NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, and
ammonium hydroxide are suitable for alkaline pretreatment of lignocel-
lulose [3,92]. A saponification reaction of ester bonds exists between the
inner molecules, which connect the xylan hemicellulose and other com-
ponents (such as between lignin and other hemicelluloses). Conse-
quently, the pore structures of lignocellulose are increased because of
the disappearance of the connecting bonds. This process can be per-
formed at room temperature and natural atmospheric pressure with
seconds to days, and normally generate less sugar degradation than
acid pretreatment. In addition, this method reveals better effectiveness
on agricultural residues than on wood lignocellulose [93,94].
Dilute alkali pretreatment process causes the expansion of lignocel-
lulose. It leads to the increase of internal area, decrease of polymeriza-
tion degree and crystallinity, and breakage of chemical bonds between
lignin and carbohydrates, which can destroy lignin structure. It is conve-
nient for the subsequent enzyme hydrolysis and improves the reaction
of residual polysaccharides. Ca(OH)2 pretreatment can increase the
crystallinity index via removal of amorphous substances [28]. Mosier
[95] stated that Ca(OH)2 can remove acetyl group from hemicellulose
to increase cellulose digestibility and reduce the steric hindrance of en-
zymes. Reilly [70] pointed out a high methane yield of wheat straw with
7.4% (w/w) Ca(OH)2(35 °C, 2 h). According to previous studies, pretreat-
ment with Ca(OH)2 is less safe and has lower cost than with NaOH or
KOH; such pretreatment can also be recovered easily from hydrolysate
via reaction with CO2. Margarate [96] provided a detailed summary on
cellulose degradation and the degradation velocity of cellulose in an al-
kali solution. On the basis of previous research and advantages of this
process, we proposed that alkali pretreatment has been the most widely
used among pretreatment approaches and thus has been extensively in-
vestigated [97,98].
3.2.3. Oxidation pretreatment
Oxidation pretreatment refers to the excellent degradation of ligno-
cellulose by oxidant, and there has rarely investigated on it. This process
mainly involves ozonolysis, wet oxidation, and photocatalysis.
Ozone can degrade lignin and hemicellulose at a large extent be-
cause of its high oxidability. Hence, we can use it to dispose lignocellu-
loses, such as wheat straw, bagasse, peanut shell, and pine [99]. With
ozonolysis pretreatment, the enzymolysis rate of cellulose can reach
fivefold after the 60% removal of lignin. The lignin content can also be
reduced from 29% to 8%, and the quality of the enzymatic hydrolysis
yield can be increased by 57%. Furthermore, this process does not pro-
duce toxic substances and inhibitory compounds, which can affect the
subsequent fermentation and hydrolysis; it can also remove lignin ef-
fectively at room temperature and normal pressure [46]. However,
this process is not economically feasible because of its high cost with
large amount of ozone needed.
Wet oxidation method refers to the chemical reaction of oxygen ox-
idation with the presence of water. This method requires more stringent
reaction conditions with high temperature and high pressure, but can
obtain an ideal treatment effect compared with other treatment
methods. Wet oxidation process is effective on maize straw pretreat-
ment. Martin [100] discussed the bagasse process with alkali condition;
202 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
the cellulose yield reaches 70%, and the percent conversion of cellulase
degradation is 74.9%, which illustrated the improvement of cellulase
conversion with wet oxidation pretreat. Photocatalysis is another pre-
treatment method that cannot affect the distribution of the final prod-
ucts, but can reduce the reaction time considerably.
3.2.4. Ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment
ILs is a new type of cellulose solvent, which is also known as “green
solvents” because of no explosive or toxic gases are formed. This solvent
is generally composed of large organic cations and small inorganic an-
ions, which are organic compounds that exist as liquid state with low
temperature (b100 °C) [101–103]. ILs has the following distinct advan-
tages: 1) almost without vapor pressure and non-volatile; 2) has a large
stable temperature range (from room temperature to 300 °C) and good
chemical stability; and 3) according to the design of the anion and the
alkyl constituents of cation, the solubility of inorganic substance,
water, organic, and polymer can be adjusted; in addition, it can form
two-phase system with many solvents, and acidity can be adjusted to
super acid [13].
Lignin and carbohydrates can be dissolved simultaneously in ILs
with anion activity, at which ILs form hydrogen bonds between the
sugar hydroxyl protons and non-hydrated chloride of the IL with stoi-
chiometry of 1:1. Consequently, the complex network structure of
non-covalent interactions among lignocellulose is broken, and the gen-
eration of degradation products is minimized. Zhu [104] used 1-butyl-3-
methylimidazolium chloride salts to pretreat lignocellulose with pres-
surization and microwave radiation; the fermentation efficiency of cel-
lulosic ethanol or butanol is obviously higher than that of conventional
process, and regenerated cellulose properties are improved significant-
ly. Furthermore, mix 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazole acetate with water to
forms ionic liquid has higher yield fermentation of sugar (81%) than
pure ionic liquid (67%) [105].
According to some demonstrations of ILs on lignocellulose
[106–109], this treatment can be further developed because of its char-
acteristics with environmentally friendly, despite its high cost. In addi-
tion, some studies indicated the pretreatment effectiveness of pure
crystalline cellulose [110]. Nevertheless, further detailed study of ILs
with low-cost recovery technology and its toxicity to enzymes and mi-
croorganisms are needed before their large-scale application. This pro-
cess should also be developed to recover hemicellulose and lignin
from solutions after cellulose extraction [111,112].
3.2.5. Organosolv pretreatment
Organic solvent pretreatment can effectively degrade lignin, which
is mainly used osmosis to break and decompose the internal chemical
bonds of cellulose and hemicellulose. This pretreatment process can
also obtain pure lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose with almost no
structure change, which can be used as high value-added byproducts.
Organisms might have certain adverse effects on subsequent strain
growth, fermentation, and environment, but a majority of them can be
reused with appropriate extraction and separation technologies, such
as evaporation [113–116]. Additionally, most of the organic solvents
are expensive, which is an important factor for industrial applications.
Low-molecular weight alcohols, such as ethanol and methanol, with
low boiling points are favored among all the possible solvents. There-
fore, this pretreatment process is a promising pretreatment method.
Common organic solvents or the mixture with water, such as meth-
anol, ethanol, acetone, ethylene glycol, and 4-hydrogenation furfuryl al-
cohol, can be used in this process [117]. Combining organosolv
pretreatment with acid catalysis to break hemicellulose bonds can ob-
tain a high yield of xylose, but it needs a high temperature (above
185 °C), which is not adopted in actual industrial application. Minimum
cellulose loss (b2%) and high lignin removal (70%) can also be achieved
with the mixture of acid pretreatment via two-stage fractionation [118].
S. Ostovareha [114] performed anaerobic digestion using sorghum stalk
with ethyl alcohol under 100 °C; the productivity of ethyl alcohol and
methane are 65.7% and 92%, respectively. With the addition of acid ca-
talysis, the yield reaches 77%, which is improved by two fold than with-
out pretreatment. Aslanzadeh used N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide to
pretreat lignocellulose under 120 °C for 12 h, and the biogas product
is 141% than without pretreatment.
3.3. Physicochemical pretreatment
3.3.1. Steam explosion pretreatment
To date, the steam explosion process is one of the most widely used
physicochemical pretreatment method. It is a hydrothermal pretreat-
ment with high temperature steam for seconds to several minutes; sub-
sequently, the steam is spewed out from the reactor. The outflow of
steam and liquid material cools down rapidly because of the reduced
pressure [119,120]. The main mechanism of this process is high pres-
sure steams into the fibers and released from the closed pore in the
form of air, which causes mechanical fracture on fiber. Besides, high
temperature and high pressure have intensified the destruction of inter-
nal hydrogen bond and orderly structural changes of cellulose, and a
new hydroxyl is released to increase the adsorption capacity of cellulose
to promote hemicellulose transformation and lignin hydrolysis [121,
122]. This pretreatment combines chemical effects and mechanical
forces because of the hydrolysis of acetyl group present in hemicellu-
lose. It is affected by factors, such as steam temperature, material parti-
cle size and humidity, and residence time [123–126]. At high
temperatures, hemicelluloses are considerably removed from the solid
fraction, and cellulose digestibility is intensified, all of which promote
high sugar degradation. Linares [127] used rape stalk discussed the ef-
fect of temperature and reaction time of steam explosion pretreatment
with response surface methodology; a high yield of sugar (81%) and
ethanol (12.4%) from enzyme hydrolysis at optimum condition
(215 °C, 7.5 min).
This process has lower environment impact, lower requirement for
reaction conditions and cost investment, fewer hazards of chemical re-
agent, and complete sugar recovery compared with other pretreatment
methods [128,129]. Furthermore, it has a good hydrolysis yields in en-
zymatic hydrolysis, and the addition of acid catalysis (except for soft-
woods) during the pretreatment process is unnecessary, because
acetic acid is formed via autohydrolysis of acetyl groups in high temper-
atures, which cause its feasibility for industrial-scale development.
However, the degradation compounds (weak acids, furan derivatives,
and phenolic compounds) could affect later enzymatic hydrolysis and
reduce the conversion rate of glucose during fermentation, thus affect-
ing ethanol production [130–133]. In addition, many phenolic com-
pounds are generated when the lignin is broken down. According to
above discussion, some detoxification methods should be studied to re-
duce the hindrance caused by these compounds, such as the addition of
other dispose method in the subsequent fermentation. Besides, several
other approaches such as genetic modification, evolutionary engineer-
ing, and adaptive strategies are nowadays promising alternatives.
Fernandes [134] pretreated cardoon with steam explosion and found
that part of hemicellulose is dissolved. The process can also increase
the enzyme hydrolysis rate to 64% of other polysaccharides, improves
sugar yield nearly six fold compared with without pretreatment. Fur-
thermore, the pretreatment solution was extracted with alkali can re-
move the degradation lignin, acid, and hemicellulose partially, thereby
obtaining a high conversion rate of sugar and ethanol.
3.3.2. AFEX pretreatment
AFEX is a combination of steam explosion and alkali treatment
methods to pretreat raw material in liquid anhydrous ammonia with
high temperature (90–100 °C) and high pressure (1–5.2 MPa). The pres-
sure is immediately released, and ammonia is subsequently evaporated,
which leads to rapid temperature change, damaged structure and in-
creased surface area of cellulose, and improved accessibility of enzyme.
Typical AFEX pretreatment is sustained for about 20–30 min with
 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
l:1–1:2 kg (mass of solid material to ammonia) [135–137]. This prepro-
cess can remove hemicellulose and lignin partly, reduce cellulose crys-
talline, and improve the proximity of cellulose enzyme and cellulose,
and produce only solid material. Enzymatic digestion at low enzyme
loadings also shows better result than other pretreatment processes.
Therefore, AFEX is suitable for pretreatment of agricultural waste and
herbaceous plants, which have high cellulose composition [138]. In ad-
dition, such process can increase the digestibility of lignocellulose with
high yield of enzymatic hydrolysis. This result may be attributed to am-
monia break the structure of lignin and reduce its adsorption to enzyme,
thereby the lignin is close to cellulose difficultly. Teymouri [139] studied
the optimized conditions of AFEX with different materials, and demon-
strated N90% of celluloses and hemicelluloses are transformed to fer-
mentable sugar, glucose content is close to the theoretical value, and
xylose content 80% of the theoretical value under the most suitable pre-
treatment conditions.
The main advantage of AFEX is the absence of inhibition substances
formed for microbial fermentation, the hydrolysate can be directly used
without further disposal, and the residue of ammonium salt can be used
as microbial nutrition. Nevertheless, ammonia should be recycled be-
cause of its high cost and volatility, which can reduce costs and avoid
damage to the environment [47,140].
3.3.3. CO2 explosion pretreatment
CO2 explosion pretreatment method is the addition of CO2 to the
steam explosion pretreatment process to form carbonic acid, which
can significantly improve the hydrolysis efficiency of hemicellulose. Lig-
nocellulose pretreated with CO2 explosion process has the advantages
of acid catalyst, and it does not produce inhibition compounds in subse-
quent hydrolysis and fermentation. Additionally, its cost is higher than
that of steam explosion but lower than AFEX. This method is also not
toxic, not flammable, easily recovered after extraction, and cost-
effective because of coproduction during ethanol fermentation, which
was demonstrated by Zhang [141,142].
This process is facilitated with high pressure, and CO2 is release
quickly, which can disrupt the structures of cellulose and hemicellulose.
Thus, the surface area of substrate accessible to enzymatic attack is im-
proved. CO2 is a supercritical fluid, so this method can remove lignin ef-
fectively, and delignification can increase when add to co-solvents.
Furthermore, some articles discussed the supercritical CO2 explosion
and demonstrated high sugar yield (84.7%) of enzyme hydrolysis [143].
3.3.4. SO2 explosion pretreatment
The idea of SO2 explosion pretreatment method is similar to CO2 ex-
plosion. SO2 explosion with external acid addition catalyze the solubili-
zation of hemicellulose, requires low optimal pretreatment
temperature, and provides a partial cellulose hydrolysis [144]. Never-
theless, the drawbacks of the process include the high requirements of
the equipment and formation of a large amount of degradation
compounds when using acids [70]. In general, SO2-catalyzed steam ex-
plosion is regarded as one of the most effective pretreatment methods
for softwood material [145]. Ohgren [141] used corn straw to study
the processing of SO2 explosion method at 190 °C with 3% SO2 for
5 min. Subsequently, cellulose and hemicellulase enzymes are added
to the treated corn stover during digestion. The glucose yield reaches
close to the theoretical conversion efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis,
and the xylose obtains a yield of 70%–74%.
3.3.5. Electrical catalysis pretreatment
Electric catalytic technology has received considerable attention be-
cause of its cleanliness, the absence of secondary pollution, and advan-
tages of oxidation, which has become a new way to solve the
environmental pollution and energy shortage. Zhang introduced this
technology to cellulose hydrolysis process for the first time. He used
titanium-based SnO2 and CeO2 as electrode material and studied cellu-
lose hydrolysis with the properties of electric catalytic oxidation. To
203
improve the effect of lignocellulose degradation, some researchers ap-
plied the two-step acid method, namely, hydrolysis of lignocellulose
with concentrated acid at first, and subsequent electrocatalysis with di-
lute acid.
3.4. Biological pretreatment method
Biological pretreatment mainly uses some bacteria and microbes to
degrade lignin. It can generate enzymes decomposing lignin in the pro-
cess. Hence, this method is effective in degrading lignin. The frequently-
used fungi to degrade lignin are wood-rotting fungi, including white-,
brown-, and soft rot fungi. Among them, white-rot fungus has the
most desirable decomposition ability on lignin. According to the
white-rot fungi pretreatment of cellulose, valuable by-products of
single-cell protein with low energy can be obtained [70,146,147]. Sever-
al white-rot fungi, such as Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, Pleurotus
ostreaus, Ceriporia lacerata, Cyathus stercolerus, Pycnoporus
cinnarbarinus, and Phanerochaete chrysosporium, have been examined
on different lignocellulosic biomasses showing high delignification effi-
ciency. The approach possesses advantages, such as mild condition, low
energy consumption, and the absence of pollution. However, a long
cycle is needed, and white-rot fungus will use part of the cellulose and
hemicellulose in the growth process. In addition, the species of lignin-
degrading microbes is less and demands high-degradation conditions,
and the activity of ligninolytic enzymes is low, all of which lead to the
difficulty in achieving large-scale industrial application. Fungal pretreat-
ment with high lignin-degrading and low cellulose-degrading fungi of
wheat straw for 10 days, which leads to a reduction in acid loading for
hydrolysis, shows an increase in the release of fermentable sugars and
a reduction in the concentration of fermentation inhibitors.
With the development of science and technology, the improved ge-
netic engineering bacteria will play an important role in the biological
pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass, which makes the application
of biological methods further recognized.
3.5. Combined pretreatment method
A single operation can have risks, such as technological problem, en-
vironmental pollution, high-energy consumption, long reaction time,
high requirement for reaction equipment corrosion resistance, and the
absence of the requirement for industrial production, which cannot sat-
isfy the intended effect. Combined pretreatment including mechanical
crushing–chemical, physical or biological treatment, mechanical
crushing–electronic radiation–alkali treatment, mechanical crushing–
microwave–chemical processing, and mechanical crushing–chemical
treatment–steam explosion [82,148–151]. This method integrates the
advantages of several single pretreatment methods according to differ-
ent lignocellulosic materials, which can significantly improve the effi-
ciency of enzymatic hydrolysis.
4. Existing problems of pretreatment lignocellulose
Pretreatment process is a multi-scale and non-uniform structure in-
teraction system. The complex and dynamic heterogeneous structure is
the key factor influencing the transport and reaction processes, which
result in the large of difference pretreatments results.
Many problems still exist in each pretreatment process, and it re-
mains in experimental stage. The major problems in pretreatment pro-
cesses are summarized as follows:
(1) Different pretreatment methods have different key points. So
evaluating various pretreatment methods directly through the
test data is not accurate. Therefore, a scientific, economically fea-
sible, and highly productive pretreatment method should be de-
veloped on the basis of the evaluation standard.
(2) Investigations on physical and chemical reaction mechanisms of
204 H. Chen et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 160 (2017) 196–206
pretreatment technology research are deficient, thus determin-
ing an excellent pretreatment method is difficult. Overlapping
discipline should be developed to broaden ideas and further un-
derstand the influence of lignocellulosic structure on cellulase
and hemicellulase digestion during processing. The mechanism
should be further studied to determine a suitable reaction
model and optimize and improve the existing pretreatment tech-
nologies.
(3) Many pretreatment technologies only consider cellulose
enzymolysis rate, hydrolysis rate, sugar yield, and removal rate
of lignin apparent indexes, which cannot explain theoretically
the involved physical chemistry in the transfer and reaction pro-
cesses on the preprocessing result. Therefore, further an innova-
tive process is necessary.
(4) Many pretreatment processes require optimal reaction condi-
tions and high cost, and cause environmental pollution.
5. Conclusions and prospects
Pretreatment is an essential step in the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic
biomass. The effects of different pretreatment processes on lignocellu-
lose composition and sugar yield have been extensively investigated.
However, different pretreatment methods have been rarely compared.
The crystallinity and accessible surface area of cellulose and the removal
of lignin and hemicellulose are the main substrate-related factors affect-
ing enzymatic hydrolysis. Many pretreatment processes can improve
the efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis and the production
of chemicals, although these processes have yet to be developed for in-
dustrial applications. On the basis of this review, we propose the follow-
ing research prospects:
(1) An efficient, eco-friendly, low cost, and simple operation pre-
treatment process should be developed to improve existing
methods.
(2) Lignocellulosic biomass components should be extensively in-
vestigated to obtain complex high-value chemicals through
highly efficient separation and create an economically feasible
follow-up process.
(3) Existing pretreatment methods should be optimized by combin-
ing saccharification and fermentation. The effect of lignocellulos-
ic structure to enzymolysis should be further elucidated.
(4) The physical and chemical reaction mechanisms of pretreatment
should be explored in detail to establish reasonable pretreatment
models and to optimize process conditions. Optimum technolog-
ical conditions should be determined, and a matching reactor
should be designed to address the common drawbacks of bio-
mass pretreatment.
(5) A new pretreatment process should be explored in the field of in-
terdisciplinary studies to alter the structure fundamentally of lig-
nocellulosic biomass, and pyrolysis reaction toward to the
controlled direction. This can be achieved to improve chemical
production and promote industrial lignocellulose applications.
Interdisciplinary studies may also provide opportunities to
solve energy crisis and to promote the safe use of chemicals.
(6) High-value byproducts and gas-liquid-solid pyrolysis products
should be improved in terms of pretreatment processes instead
of the chemical reaction rates.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the Shanghai Leading Academic Disci-
pline Project (Project Number J51503), National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (Project Number 20976105), Shanghai Association for
Science and Technology Achievements Transformation Alliance Pro-
gram (Project Number LM201559), Shanghai Municipal Education
Commission boosting project (Project Number 15cxy39), Science and
Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality Project (Project
Number 14520503200),Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
(Plateau Discipline Construction Program), and Shanghai Talent Devel-
opment Funding (Project Number 201335).
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