Fungal pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production is an environmental-friendly alternative to steam explosion. However, this biological pretreatment has been tested on a small scale, where most of the typical problems of solid-state fermentations (SSF), such as limited aeration or temperature control, are not observed. The main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of the fungal pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass (wheat straw) at a demonstration scale using the white-rot fungus Irpex lacteus to improve straw digestibility. Different configurations were evaluated for the design of a 22 L SSF reactor, but a versatile vertical design that can operate as a packed-bed and as a tray reactor was selected. The wheat straw digestibility obtained in the SSF bioreactor after 21 days of pretreatment (60.6%) was similar to that achieved on a small scale (57.9%). In addition, the most common online monitoring variables (temperature and CO₂ production) correlate with the fungal action on wheat straw. As well as the weight loss, obtaining comparable results at flask and reactor scale (30 and 34.5%, respectively).

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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真菌预处理在 2G 生物炼制中的工业应用：小麦秸秆固态发酵的放大

用于生物乙醇生产的木质纤维素生物质的真菌预处理是蒸汽爆破的环保替代方案。然而，这种生物预处理已经在小规模上进行了测试，其中大多数固态发酵 (SSF) 的典型问题，例如有限的通气或温度控制，都没有被观察到。本研究的主要目的是评估使用白腐真菌Irpex lacteus在示范规模上对木质纤维素生物质（小麦秸秆）进行真菌预处理的可行性以提高秸秆消化率。为 22 L SSF 反应器的设计评估了不同的配置，但选择了可以作为填充床和盘式反应器运行的多功能垂直设计。在预处理 21 天后，在 SSF 生物反应器中获得的小麦秸秆消化率（60.6%）与小规模（57.9%）相似。此外，最常见的在线监测变量（温度和 CO ₂产量）与真菌对小麦秸秆的作用相关。以及重量损失，在烧瓶和反应器规模上获得可比较的结果（分别为 30% 和 34.5%）。

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