Shock Pretreatment
Monday, April 28, 2014: 4:50 PM
Grand Ballroom D-E, lobby level (Hilton Clearwater Beach)
In shock pretreatment, an aqueous slurry of lignocellulosic biomass is placed in a cylindrical shock tube. In the gas space above the aqueous slurry, an explosive is detonated. The resulting high-pressure shock wave travels through the biomass and disrupts its physical structure at the microscopic level. As a consequence, the enzymatic digestibility improves substantially. When combined with a chemical treatment, it is extremely effective and approaches enzymatic digestibilities achieved with ball milling, a very expensive mechanical pretreatment. Because shock treatment is rapid and consumes very little energy, preliminary economic evaluations estimate that it is very inexpensive (~$5/ton).