Medium-Temperature Pyrolysis of Corn Stover Improved by Biopretreatment with White-rot Fungi

This work investigated the ability of biopretreatment with different whiterot fungi to improve the medium-temperature pyrolysis of biomass. It was found that biopretreatment can significantly increase the production of phenols and glucopyranoside up to 2.82 and 2.94 fold, respectively. Biopretreatment can also decrease the content of carbon dioxide, propanol, and propanone, making the pyrolysis more efficient and product-oriented. Moreover, distinct bio-deconstruction mechanisms can result in different pyrolysis products. By deconstructing cellulose and modifying lignin with a minimum of demethoxyation, white-rot fungus Irpex lacteus CD2 can improve the production of acetaldehyde (up to 6.72%) and methoxyl substitutes such as dimethoxyphenyl (up to 21.59 folds). By decomposing carbohydrates, carbonxyl, and methoxyl groups, white-rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus BP2 and Echinodontium taxodii 2538 can increase the production of D-allose (up to 3.09%) and formic acid (up to 6.98%), while decreasing the methoxyl substitutes such as 2methoxy-4-vinylphenol (up to 70.08%).