Comparison of four different chemical pretreatments of corn stover for enhancing enzymatic digestibility

Four commonly used chemical pretreatment processes based on dilute acid, lime, aqueous ammonia steeping followed by dilute acid hydrolysis, and sodium hydroxide, were evaluated to provide comparative performance data. An obverse correlation between lignin removal and enzymatic digestibility of pretreated corn stover was observed. Compared with other three pretreatments, pretreatment of corn stover with 2% NaOH substantially increased the lignin removal and enhanced the accessibility and digestibility of cellulose. The hydrolysis yield of NaOH-pretreated corn stover reached 81.2% by 48 h at 8.0% substrate concentration and cellulase dosage of 20 FPU g⁻¹ substrate. Chemical analysis showed that the enzymatic hydrolysate from NaOH-pretreated corn stover contained higher content of fermentable sugars and less inhibitors, which is suitable for subsequent fermentation process to produce ethanol. The research results are meaningful in bioconversion and utilization of renewable lignocellulosic biomass.     

Screening for sugar and ethanol processing characteristics from anatomical fractions of wheat stover

Due to concerns with stover collection systems, soil sustainability, and processing costs to produce ethanol, there are opportunities to investigate the optimal plant fractions to collect. Wheat stover fractions were separated by hand and analyzed for glucan, xylan, acid-soluble lignin, acid-insoluble lignin, and ash composition. Internodes had the highest glucan content (38.2% zero percent moisture basis) and the other fractions varied between 29.9% and 33.4%. The stover fractions were pretreated with either 0%, 0.4%, or 0.8% NaOH for 2 h at room temperature, washed, autoclaved, and saccharified. In addition, acid pretreated samples underwent simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) to ethanol. In general, the acid and alkaline pretreatments produced similar trends with leaves requiring very little pretreatment to achieve high conversion rates (greater than 80%). Chaff responded very well to pretreatment and high conversion efficiencies resulted when pretreated under alkaline or acidic conditions. Nodes and internodes were more recalcitrant than the other anatomical fractions. Pretreatment with 0.8% sulfuric acid (0.24 g sulfuric acid/g biomass) did not result in a significantly higher conversion of glucan to ethanol as the native material. Pretreatment with 0.8% NaOH (0.06 g NaOH/g biomass) at room temperature for 2 h resulted in high conversion efficiencies for all plant fractions, greater than 73% of the available glucan. These differences in pretreatment susceptibilities suggest that a biomass collection system that removes specific portions of wheat stover could result in significant differences in ethanol production costs.     

Physical characteristics of AFEX-pretreated and densified switchgrass,prairie cord grass,and corn stover

The goal of the study was to evaluate and compare the physical properties of control, pretreated and densified corn stover, switchgrass, and prairie cord grass samples. Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX) pretreated switchgrass, corn stover, and prairie cord grass samples were densified by using the comPAKco device developed by Federal Machine Company of Fargo, ND. The densified biomass were referred as “PAKs” in this study. All feedstocks were ground into three different grind size of 2, 4 and 8 mm prior to AFEX pretreatment and the impact of grinding on pellet properties was studied. The results showed that the physical properties of AFEX-PAKed material were not influenced by the initial grind size of the feedstocks. The bulk density of the AFEX-PAKed biomass increased by 1.2–6 fold as compared to untreated and AFEX-pretreated materials. The durability of the AFEX-PAKed materials were between 78.25 and 95.2%, indicating that the AFEX-PAKed biomass can be transported easily. To understand the effect of storage on the physical properties of these materials, samples were stored in the ambient condition (20 ± 2 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity) for six months. After storage, thermal properties of the biomass did not change but glass transition temperature decreased. The water absorption index and water solubility index of AFEX-treated and AFEX-PAKed biomass showed mixed trends after storage. Moisture content decreased and durability increased upon storage.     

Improved hydrogen production via thermophilic fermentation of corn stover by microwave-assisted acid pretreatment

A microwave-assisted acid pretreatment (MAP) strategy has been developed to enhance hydrogen production via thermophilic fermentation of corn stover. Pretreatment of corn stover by combining microwave irradiation and acidification resulted in the increased release of soluble substances and made the corn stover more accessible to microorganisms when compared to thermal acid pretreatment (TAP). MAP showed obvious advantages in short duration and high efficiency of lignocellulosic hydrolysis. Analysis of the particle size and specific surface area of corn stover as well as observation of its cellular microstructure were used to elucidate the enhancement mechanism of the hydrolysis process by microwave assistance. The cumulative hydrogen volume reached 182.2 ml when corn stover was pretreated by MAP with 0.3 N H₂SO₄ for 45 min, and the corresponding hydrogen yield reached 1.53 mol H₂/mol-glucose equivalents converted to organic end products. The present work demonstrates that MAP has potential to enhance the bioconversion efficiency of lignocellulosic waste to renewable biofuel.     

Production of butanol (a biofuel) from agricultural residues: Part II – Use of corn stover and switchgrass hydrolysates

Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) was produced from hydrolysed corn stover and switchgrass using Clostridium beijerinckii P260. A control experiment using glucose resulted in the production of 21.06 g L^?1 total ABE. In this experiment an ABE yield and productivity of 0.41 and 0.31 g L^?1 h^?1 was achieved, respectively. Fermentation of untreated corn stover hydrolysate (CSH) exhibited no growth and no ABE production; however, upon dilution with water (two fold) and wheat straw hydrolysate (WSH, ratio 1:1), 16.00 and 18.04 g L^?1 ABE was produced, respectively. These experiments resulted in ABE productivity of 0.17–0.21 g L^?1 h^?1. Inhibitors present in CSH were removed by treating the hydrolysate with Ca(OH)₂ (overliming). The culture was able to produce 26.27 g L^?1 ABE after inhibitor removal. Untreated switchgrass hydrolysate (SGH) was poorly fermented and the culture did not produce more than 1.48 g L^?1 ABE which was improved to 14.61 g L^?1. It is suggested that biomass pretreatment methods that do not generate inhibitors be investigated. Alternately, cultures resistant to inhibitors and able to produce butanol at high concentrations may be another approach to improve the current process.     

Characterization of corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure for thermochemical conversion

Corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure were characterized to evaluate their acceptability for thermochemical conversion. The energy densities of ground corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure after totally drying were 3402, 11,813 and 10,374 MJ/m³, compared to 37,125 MJ/m³ for coal. The contents of volatiles in corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure were 77.4, 82.6 and 82.8%, respectively, on a dry and ash-free basis compared to 43.6% for coal. About 90% of the volatiles in corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure were released at pyrolysis temperatures of 497, 573 and 565 °C, respectively. The combustion of corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure were completed at 620, 840 and 560 °C, respectively. The heat values of the biomass and air mixture for stoichiometric combustion were 2.64, 2.75 and 1.77 MJ/kg for dried corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure, respectively, as compared to 2.69 MJ/kg for coal. Combustion of 1 kg of dry corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure generated 5.33, 6.20 and 5.66 Nm³ of flue gas, respectively, compared to 8.34 Nm³ for coal. Simulation showed that gasification of 1 kg of dried corn stover, distiller grains and cattle manure at 850 °C and ER of 0.3 generated 2.02, 2.37 and 1.44 Nm³ dry syngas at a heating value of about 4.5 MJ/Nm³, compared to 3.52 Nm³ at 5.8 MJ/Nm³ for coal. The molecular ratio of H₂ to CO in the biomass-derived syngas was close to 1.0, compared to about 0.5 for the coal-derived syngas.     

Corn stover ethanol yield as affected by grain yield,Bt trait,and environment

Literature values for glucose release from corn stover are highly variable which would likely result in tremendous variability in bio-refinery ethanol yield from corn stover feedstock. A relatively recent change in United States corn genetics is the inclusion of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) trait, which now accounts for three-fourths of all US planted corn acreage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of corn grain yield, inclusion of the Bt trait, and location environment on corn stover quality for subsequent ethanol conversion. Two hybrid pairs (each having a Bt and non-Bt near-isoline) were analyzed giving a total of 4 hybrids. In 2010 and 2011, field plots were located in Michigan at four latitudinal differing locations in four replicated plots at each location. Stover composition and enzymatic digestibility was analyzed and estimated ethanol yield (g g⁻¹) was calculated based on hydrolyzable glucan and xylan levels. Analysis showed that there were no significant differences in total glucose or xylose levels nor in enzymatically hydrolyzable glucan and xylan concentrations between Bt corn stover and the non-Bt stover isolines. Regression analyses between corn grain yield (Mg ha⁻¹) and corn stover ethanol yield (g g⁻¹) showed an inverse relationship indicative of a photosynthate source-sink relationship. Nevertheless, the quantity of stover produced was found to be more critical than the quality of stover produced in maximizing potential stover ethanol yield on a land area basis.     

Optimization of alkaline pretreatment on corn stover for enhanced production of 1.3-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae AJ4

Corn stover is one of the most promising lignocellulosic biomass that can be utilized for producing 1,3-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol. The pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis steps are essential for the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to diols. For optimizing the pretreatment step, temperature, time, and NaOH concentration were evaluated based on total sugar recovery. Enzymatic hydrolysis for cellulose and hemicellulose were investigated at different solid-to-liquid ratios. The optimum conditions were found to be alkaline pretreatment with 0.25 mol dm⁻³ NaOH for 1 h at 60 °C followed by enzymatic hydrolysis at 50 °C for 48 h, with a solid slurry concentration of 100 g dm⁻³. Under these conditions, conversion rates of 92.55% and 78.82% were obtained from glucan and xylan, respectively. Diol production from fermentable sugars was 14.8 g dm⁻³, with a conversion yield and productivity of 0.46 g g⁻¹, and 0.98 g dm⁻³ h⁻¹, respectively. Our results are similar for diol production obtained using pure sugars under the same conditions. Therefore, mild alkaline pretreatment of corn stover facilitates delignification, significantly improving the rate of enzymatic saccharification and sugar recovery.     

Effect of biomass species and plant size on cellulosic ethanol: A comparative process and economic analysis

The effects of five different biomass species and their chemical composition on the overall process efficiency and economic performance considering feedstock availability and feedstock costs to manufacture ethanol from lignocellulose were studied. First is a comparison of ethanol production and excess electricity generated between different biomass species. Results show that, at the same feedstock rate of 2000 Mg day^?1, aspen wood has larger ethanol production than switchgrass, hybrid poplar and corn stover, while the excess electricity generated is as follows in increasing order: aspen < corn stover < hybrid poplar/switchgrass. Second, our results show that the ethanol production is largely linear with holocellulose (cellulose plus hemicellulose) composition of the various biomass species. However, the relationship between excess electricity generated and non-holocellulose combustible component is nonlinear. Last, on environmental performance, it is found that the water losses per unit ethanol production are in the following order: aspen wood < corn stover < hybrid poplar < switchgrass. While corn stover is a potential feedstock to produce cellulosic ethanol with the lowest ethanol production cost at the present time, hybrid poplar and switchgrass are the two promising future energy crops.The effects of plant size analysis showed that the estimated feedstock delivered costs, ethanol production, excess electricity generated and solid and gaseous waste emissions all increase with plant size for the various biomass species. The ethanol production costs decrease with the increase in plant size with optimal plant sizes for corn stover in the range from 2000 dry Mg day^?1 to 4000 dry Mg day^?1.     

Reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn ethanol by integrating biomass to produce heat and power at ethanol plants

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) of corn ethanol was conducted to determine the reduction in the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for corn ethanol compared to gasoline by integrating biomass fuels to replace fossil fuels (natural gas and grid electricity) in a U.S. Midwest dry-grind corn ethanol plant producing 0.19 hm³ y⁻¹ of denatured ethanol. The biomass fuels studied are corn stover and ethanol co-products [dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), and syrup (solubles portion of DDGS)]. The biomass conversion technologies/systems considered are process heat (PH) only systems, combined heat and power (CHP) systems, and biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) systems. The life-cycle GHG emission reduction for corn ethanol compared to gasoline is 38.9% for PH with natural gas, 57.7% for PH with corn stover, 79.1% for CHP with corn stover, 78.2% for IGCC with natural gas, 119.0% for BIGCC with corn stover, and 111.4% for BIGCC with syrup and stover. These GHG emission estimates do not include indirect land use change effects. GHG emission reductions for CHP, IGCC, and BIGCC include power sent to the grid which replaces electricity from coal. BIGCC results in greater reductions in GHG emissions than IGCC with natural gas because biomass is substituted for fossil fuels. In addition, underground sequestration of CO₂ gas from the ethanol plant’s fermentation tank could further reduce the life-cycle GHG emission for corn ethanol by 32% compared to gasoline.     

Recovery of arabinan in acetic acid-catalyzed hydrothermal pretreatment on corn stover

Acetic acid-catalyzed hydrothermal pretreatment was done on corn stover under 195 °C, 15 min with the acetic acid ranging from 5 × 10^?3 to 0.2 g g^?1 corn stover. After pretreatment, the water-insoluble solids (WISs) and liquors were collected respectively. Arabinan recoveries from both WIS and liquors were investigated. The results indicate that there was no detectable arabinan left in the WIS when the acetic acid of 0.1 and 0.2 g g^?1 corn stover were used in the pretreatment. The arabinan contents in the other WISs were not more than 10%. However, the arabinan found in the liquors was not covering the amount of arabinan released from the raw corn stover. For the arabinan recovery from liquor fractions, the highest of 43.57% was obtained by the pretreatment of acetic acid of 0.01 g g^?1 of corn stover and the lowest was only 26.77% when the acetic acid of 0.2 g g^?1 corn stover was used. As far as the total arabinan recovery, the pretreatment with acetic acid at 0.01 g g^?1 raw corn stover yielded the highest and it was 52.16%. This meant that almost half of the arabinose was degraded during the pretreatment process.     

Optimization of two-stage fractionation process for lignocellulosic biomass using response surface methodology (RSM)

A two-stage process using aqueous ammonia and hot-water has been investigated to fractionate corn stover. To maximize hemicelluloses recovery and purity in the liquid hydrolyzate by optimizing the fractionation process, the experiments were carried out employing response surface methodology (RSM). A central composite design (CCD) was used to evaluate and confirm the effectiveness and interactions of factors. The optimal fractionation conditions were determined to be as follow: (1) First-stage reactor operated in batch mode using a 15% NH₄OH solution (w_NH3 = 15%) at 1:10 solid:liquid ratio, 60 °C, and 24 h; (2) second stage percolation reactor operated using hot-water at 20 cm³ min⁻¹, 200 °C, and 10 min.The model predicted 51.5% xylan recovery yield and 82.4% xylan purity under these conditions. Experiments confirmed the maximum xylan recovery yield and purity were 54.7% and 83.9% respectively under the optimal reaction conditions.With the solids resulting from the two-stage treatment, 87%-98% glucan digestibilities were obtained with 15 FPU of GC 220 per g-glucan and 30 CBU of Novo 188 per g-glucan enzyme loadings. Xylan digestibility of xylooligomer hydrolysates reached 76% with 8000 GXU per g-xylan of Multifect-Xylanase loading. In the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) test using treated solids and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (D₅A), 86 % to 98% of ethanol yield was obtained on the basis of the glucan content in the treated solids.     

Enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by using alkaline pretreated corn stover as a sacrificial agent

In this study, alkali pretreated corn stover was added as a sacrificial agent to the suspension of Pt/TiO₂ to significantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The changes in structural characteristics of corn stover before and after alkali treatment and photocatalytic reactions were studied. According to the results, the removal of lignin and hemicellulose, as well as the changes in surface morphology, structural components, and functional groups of alkali pretreated corn stover may affect the photocatalytic hydrogen production process. Next, the effects of NaOH concentration, pretreatment time and temperature on hydrogen production were also investigated. Among them, within the scope of the experimental conditions, the optimal hydrogen production is 25.84 μmol h⁻¹. Moreover, the enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen production is also achieved by using the waste liquid of alkali pretreated. The output of this study may provide a reference for the reuse of alkali-treated biomass residues and waste liquor in some industries, and make more comprehensive, efficient and green use of native lignocellulosic biomass.     

Second-generation bioethanol of hydrothermally pretreated stover biomass from maize genotypes

Twelve maize genotypes, were agronomically evaluated and their stover hydrothermally pretreated in a temperature range of 210–225 °C to assess the effects of genotype and pretreatment severity on stover recalcitrance toward bioethanol conversion. Maize genotypes exhibited significant variation for biomass yield and all agronomic evaluated, while among all cell wall constituents measured in the unpretreated stover, only ash content showed differences among genotypes. The pretreatment severities assayed impacted most stover compositional traits, and the glucose recovered after enzymatic hydrolysis displayed a similar profile among genotypes with similar genetic background. Harsher pretreatment conditions maximized the potential cellulosic bioethanol production (208–239 L/t), while the mildest maximized the bioethanol from the hemicellulosic hydrolysates (137–175 L/t). Consequently, when both pentose and hexose sugars were considered, the total potential bioethanol produced at the lowest and highest pretreatment temperatures was similar in all genotypes (292–358 L/t), indicating that the lowest temperature (210 °C) was the optimal among all assayed. Importantly, the ranking of genotypes for bioethanol yield (L/ha) closely resembled the ranking for stover yield (t/ha), indicating that breeding for biomass yield would increase the bioethanol production per hectare regardless of the manufacturing process. Similarly, the genetic regulation of corn stover moisture is possible and relevant for efficient energy production as biomass moisture has a potential impact on stover transportation, storage and processing requirements. Overall, these results indicate that local landrace populations are important genetic resources to improve cultivated crops, and that simultaneous breeding for production of grain and stover bioethanol is possible in corn.     

Effects of compressive force,particle size and moisture content on mechanical properties of biomass pellets from grasses

Mechanical properties of wheat straw, barley straw, corn stover and switchgrass were determined at different compressive forces, particle sizes and moisture contents. Ground biomass samples were compressed with five levels of compressive forces (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 4400 N) and three levels of particle sizes (3.2, 1.6 and 0.8 mm) at two levels of moisture contents (12% and 15% (wet basis)) to establish compression and relaxation data. Compressed sample dimensions and mass were measured to calculate pellet density. Corn stover produced the highest pellet density at low pressure during compression. Compressive force, particle size and moisture content significantly affected the pellet density of barley straw, corn stover and switchgrass. However, different particle sizes of wheat straw did not produce any significant difference on pellet density. The relaxation data were analyzed to determine the asymptotic modulus of biomass pellets. Barley straw had the highest asymptotic modulus among all biomass indicating that pellets made from barley straw were more rigid than those of other pellets. Asymptotic modulus increased linearly with an increase in compressive pressure. A simple linear model was developed to relate asymptotic modulus and maximum compressive pressure.     

Sugarcane hybrids with original low lignin contents and high field productivity are useful to reach high glucose yields from bagasse

Five sugarcane hybrids plus a reference material were evaluated according to the glucose yields obtained after alkaline-sulfite pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Sugarcane hybrids with varied original chemical compositions were used to assess how contrasting samples might influence the integrated pretreatment and hydrolysis process. The hydrolysis efficiency of six samples treated at three different chemical loads, suggested that lignin and hemicellulose removals during the pretreatment were not the single factor necessary to reach high cellulose conversion levels in the enzymatic hydrolysis step. Pretreated samples with the highest total acid contents (mainly sulfonic acids) were also the most digestible materials. The glucose yields were heavily dependent not only on the digestibility of the pretreated materials but also on the field productivity of the plants. One of the hybrids, presenting high glucan yields after pretreatment and high digestibility, produced low glucose yields because it presented very low biomass productivity. In contrast, one of the hybrids that presented low glucan yield after pretreatment, but was highly digestible and presented high biomass productivity, provided the highest glucose yields in the data set, producing 4192 and 5629 kg of glucose per hectare after enzymatic hydrolysis for 24 h and 72 h, respectively.     

Enhanced saccharification of SO2 catalyzed steam-exploded corn stover by polyethylene glycol addition

Corn stover is a renewable, low cost and abundant feedstock in China. Its effective utilization is crucial for providing bioenergy, releasing environmental pollution and increasing farmers’ income. This aim of this study was to obtain the efficient saccharification of SO₂ catalyzed steam-exploded corn stover (SSECS) by polyethylene glycol (PEG) addition. According to the results, adding PEG6000 could lower the enzyme loading by 33.3%. With 20% solid loading, the highest glucose concentration of 102 g L⁻¹ and 91.3% saccharification yield were obtained using 30 CBU (g glucan)⁻¹ ??-glucosidase and 10 FPU (g glucan)⁻¹ cellulase in presence of PEG6000. In addition, protein and enzyme activities assays in the supernatants revealed that PEG could facilitate the desorption of enzyme protein from lignocellulose. These indicated that PEG addition not only can enhance enzymatic saccharification at high substrate concentration, but also can improve enzyme recycling by reducing the enzyme activity loss caused by adsorption during the hydrolysis.     

Comparative net energy ratio analysis of pellet produced from steam pretreated biomass from agricultural residues and energy crops

A process model was developed to determine the net energy ratio (NER) for the production of pellets from steam pretreated agricultural residue (wheat straw) and energy crops (i.e., switchgrass in this case). The NER is a ratio of the net energy output to the total net energy input from non-renewable energy sources into a system. Scenarios were developed to measure the effects of temperature and level of steam pretreatment on the NER of steam pretreated wheat straw and switchgrass pellets. The NERs for the base case at 6 kg h⁻¹ are 1.76 and 1.37 for steam-pretreated wheat straw and switchgrass-based pellets, respectively. The reason behind the difference is that more energy is required to dry switchgrass pellets than wheat straw pellets. The sensitivity analysis for the model shows that the optimum temperature for steam pretreatment is 160 °C with 50% pretreatment (i.e. 50 % steam treated material is blended with the raw biomass and then pelletised). The uncertainty results for NER for steam pretreated wheat straw and switch grass pellets are 1.62 ± 0.10 and 1.42 ± 0.11, respectively.     

Acidified glycerol pretreatment for enhanced ethanol production from rice straw

Rice straw was pretreated using an industrial grade glycerol for ethanol production. The pretreatment was conducted at 130–210 °C for 1–24 h with 5% solid loading. The glucan content in the regenerated rice straw increased with increasing pretreatment temperature and time. The production of fermentable sugars initially increased as the pretreatment temperature and reaction time increased, but then decreased somewhat at the higher temperatures and with longer reaction duration. The highest amount of reducing sugar produced by the enzymatic hydrolysis was achieved at 190 °C for 10 h with 5% solid loading, optimal condition for the glycerol pretreatment of rice straw. Furthermore, it was observed that glycerol pretreatment with the addition of HCl improved the digestibility of fermentable sugars by 4–5 times that of untreated samples. Fermentation of hydrolysates resulted in an ethanol yield of 0.44 g/g sugar, corresponding to a theoretical yield of 84.3%. It was concluded that acidified glycerol is one of the good candidates of the organic solvent for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass.     

Influence of mineral matter on pyrolysis of palm oil wastes

The influence of mineral matter on pyrolysis of biomass (including pure biomass components, synthesized biomass, and natural biomass) was investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). First, the mineral matter, KCl, K₂CO₃, Na₂CO₃, CaMg(CO₃)₂, Fe₂O₃, and Al₂O₃, was mixed respectively with the three main biomass components (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin) at a weight ratio (C/W) of 0.1 and its pyrolysis characteristics were investigated. Most of these mineral additives, except for K₂CO₃, demonstrated negligible influence. Adding K₂CO₃ inhibited the pyrolysis of hemicellulose by lowering its mass loss rate by 0.3 wt%/°C, while it enhanced the pyrolysis of cellulose by shifting the pyrolysis to a lower temperature. With increased K₂CO₃ added, the weight loss of cellulose in the lower temperature zone (200-315 °C) increased greatly and the activation energies of hemicellulose and cellulose pyrolysis decreased notably from 204 to 42 kJ/mol. Second, studies on the synthetic biomass of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, and K₂CO₃ (as a representative of minerals) indicated that peaks of cellulose and hemicellulose pyrolysis became overlapped with addition of K₂CO₃ (at C/W = 0.05-0.1), due to the catalytic effect of K₂CO₃ lowering cellulose pyrolysis to a lower temperature. Finally, a local representative biomass—palm oil waste (in the forms of original material and material pretreated through water washing or K₂CO₃ addition)—was studied. Water washing shifted pyrolysis of palm oil waste to a higher temperature by 20 °C, while K₂CO₃ addition lowered the peak temperature of pyrolysis by . It was therefore concluded that the obvious catalytic effect of adding K₂CO₃ might be attributed to certain fundamental changes in terms of chemical structure of hemicellulose or decomposition steps of cellulose in the course of pyrolysis.