Feedstock pretreatment and technological process of cellulose ethanol production

Lignocellulose is a promising resource for bioethanol production due to its abundance,renewablility,and low cost.Ethanol production from lignocellulose biomass comprises the following critical steps:feedstock pretreatment,sugar fermentation,separation and purification of the ethanol,among which pretreatment step is identified as technological bottleneck for commercialization of cellulosic ethanol technology.The characteristics and technological processes of typical pretreatment methods are reviewed,such as acid pretreatment,alkali pretreatment,steam explosion,syngas etc.,and the advantages and disadvantages,available materials and process efficiency of those methods are compared and discussed to provide guidance for the selection and evaluation of pretreatment process in cellulose ethanol production.Finally,the prospect of commercialization of fuel ethanol production from cellulosic biomass is presented.Reasonable integration of different pretreatment technologies will effectively improve the conversion rate.A preferable process design can help in reducing cost,contributing to the economy of the whole process.