Shock Pretreatment

Shock pretreatment subjects biomass to a detonation shock wave, which disrupts its physical structure at the micro scale.  Shock pretreatment is most effect when used in conjunction with a chemical pretreatment, such as oxidative lime. Using both extracellular cellulase and mixed-acid fermentation, shock pretreatment has been shown to enhance yields.  The residence time is extremely short, so the equipment is small even for a large industrial facility.  Originally, the shock wave was produced using explosives, but more recently, we have learned how to use reactive gas (hydrogen and oxygen) to create the detonation wave.  We have been scaling up shock pretreatment and have shown it to be equally effective at both the 2-L and 20-L scales.  The estimated cost of industrial-scale shock treatment is about $5/tonne.