Ball milling as an important pretreatment technique in lignocellulose biorefineries: a review
Type
ArticleAuthors
Sitotaw, Yalew WoldeamanuelHabtu, Nigus G.
Gebreyohannes, Abaynesh Yihdego

Nunes, Suzana Pereira

Van Gerven, Tom
KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEnvironmental Science and Engineering Program
Nanostructured Polymeric Membrane Lab
Date
2021-08-12Embargo End Date
2022-08-12Submitted Date
2021-03-31Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/670762
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol remains a challenging process due to the recalcitrant structure of lignocellulose. The presence of the sturdy lignin protective sheath, complex structure, and partial crystallinity of cellulose often reduces the enzymatic susceptibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Therefore, pretreatment is aimed to increase accessibility by improving the physicochemical properties and composition of lignocellulosic biomass. It is the first and the most critical step that needs to be carefully selected and designed to overcome the constraints and improve the overall efficiency of bioethanol production. In recent years, ball milling has been applied as an emerging technique to produce bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass efficiently and in an environment-friendly manner. Furthermore, ball milling technique coupled with chemical and physicochemical pretreatments has been shown to facilitate lignin removal, reduce cellulose crystallinity, and increase the specific surface area which ultimately improves the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Over the last decade, several reports have been published on the application of ball milling to intensify the pretreatment process. However, a compiled report showing the progress of the technology in bioethanol processing is absent. In this review, a critical analysis and evaluation of published works on ball milling and ball milling–assisted chemical/physicochemical pretreatments are presented. It also addresses the synergistic effects of combining ball milling and chemical/physicochemical treatments to bring desirable characteristics of lignocellulosic biomass that will eventually improve hydrolysis yield and reduce chemical and energy consumption in bioethanol production.Citation
Sitotaw, Y. W., Habtu, N. G., Gebreyohannes, A. Y., Nunes, S. P., & Van Gerven, T. (2021). Ball milling as an important pretreatment technique in lignocellulose biorefineries: a review. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. doi:10.1007/s13399-021-01800-7Sponsors
The authors would like to acknowledge the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the German Government for their financial support.Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLCAdditional Links
https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13399-021-01800-7ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s13399-021-01800-7