Enhancing reed cellulose conversion to glucose with octyl glucoside and tea saponin pretreatment

Low pretreatment temperatures are beneficial for enhancing the activity of both soluble lignin and lignin in pretreated solids. To achieve high-activity lignin and a higher glucose yield at a lower lignin removal rate and reduced enzymatic loading, the synergistic effects of octyl glucoside and tea saponin during low-temperature ammonia‑oxygen pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were explored. Utilizing a moderated lignin extraction at 38 %, with pretreatment at 110 °C, and enriched with 1 % octyl glucoside and 0.06 g/g tea saponin, the biochemical conversion was galvanized. This manifested in an enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of 96 % and a glucose yield in excess of 85 % at an enzyme loading of 5 FPU/g of pretreated-solids. Conversely, the lignin removal rate without surfactants was 26 %, resulting in 70 % hydrolysis efficiency even at a higher enzyme loading of 15 FPU/g of pretreated-solids. In order to minimize the pretreatment temperature and enzyme load as much as possible without affecting the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis and glucose yield, the goal of this research is to investigate the roles of octyl glucoside in the pretreatment process and tea saponin in the enzymatic hydrolysis process. This study provides a new approach for refining lignocellulosic biomass.