Valorization of Corn Straw for Production of Glucose by Two‐Step Depolymerization

Abstract

Depolymerization of the cellulose part in lignocellulose to glucose is a significant step for lignocellulose valorization. As one of the main by‐products of agricultural biomass in crop‐producing filed, valorization of corn straw has attracted considerable attention. In this study, a two‐step depolymerizing strategy of high‐pressure CO2‐H2O pretreatment and oxidation‐hydrolysis was applied for selective depolymerization of the cellulose component of corn straw to glucose production. Most part of the hemicellulose component could be removed through high‐pressure CO2‐H2O pretreatment in the presence of low concentration of acetic acid, and then as high as 32.2% yield of glucose was achieved in water at 170 oC for 6 h without additional catalyst. The active acid sites generated during the partial oxidation of hydroxymethyl groups to carboxyl groups on glucose units of cellulose was shown to be crucial for the efficient valorization of corn straw for glucose production.