Improvement of anaerobic degradation by white-rot fungi pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass: A review

E. Rouches, I. Herpoël-Gimbert, J.P. Steyer and H. Carrere

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, vol. 59, issue C, 179-198

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass appears to be an efficient process for the production of energy whilst answering present-day environmental challenges. However, lignin contained in lignocellulosic biomass is hardly biodegradable, thus representing a major obstacle for maximum methane production. Consequently, although pretreatments need to be considered, their cost is a limit for their full-scale use. Biological pretreatments are a cheaper alternative in this context. Several biological pretreatments have been studied for anaerobic digestion: ensiling, partial composting, specific microbial consortia, enzymes and fungi. Simple, inexpensive and efficient pretreatments can be obtained using fungi. White-rot fungi (WRF), have been considered as most capable of delignifying a substrate. However, their use in the pretreatment of substrates for anaerobic digestion is quite recent and still needs to be investigated. This review compares fungal pretreatment with other biological treatments for anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass. Enzymatic mechanisms for WRF pretreatments are then exposed. The literature data regarding the improvement of anaerobic digestibility with WRF pretreatment are summarized (anaerobic digestion and in vitro digestibility with rumen microorganisms). Finally, lignocellulosic biomass features allowing the improvement of anaerobic digestion are exposed (porosity, cellulose crystallinity, etc.). The possible effects of WRF on these characteristics are discussed and industrial perspectives for WRF pretreatments are presented.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biogas; Pretreatment; Fungal; In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD); Lignocellulose; Delignification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115017001
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:59:y:2016:i:c:p:179-198

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.317

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().