Low energy consumption for instantaneous catapult steam explosion on the enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw

Steam explosion pretreatment technology is one of the most widely used pretreatment technologies for biomass, but with the defects of high energy consumption and high cellulose loss. In this study, a low-energy pretreatment strategy was proposed for steam explosion of wheat straw coupling with screw extrusion and ultra-low acid spraying, and the corresponding relationship between different pretreatment conditions and steam explosion energy consumption was explored. The results showed that 93.8 % of cellulose was retained by screw extrusion and the addition of 0.1 % sulfuric acid spray under steam explosion (160 °C-5min, 0.618 MPa), accordingly, the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction for 72 h resulted in a cellulose enzyme degradation rate of 60.9 %. Compared with the control group (196 °C-5 min, 1.4 MPa), higher cellulose retention, was achieved at lower temperature and pressure, and the energy consumption decreased from 1.29 kJ/g to 1.15 kJ/g, which was a reduction of 10.89 %. • A low-energy pretreatment strategy was proposed for wheat straw steam explosion. • The screw extrusion and ultra-low acid pretreatment reduced the energy consumption of steam explosion. • 93.8 % cellulose was retained at 160 °C-5 min with 0.1 % H 2 SO 4 for 60.9 % enzyme hydrolysis. • The energy consumption decreased from 1.29 kJ/g to 1.15 kJ/g, with a reduction of 10.89 %.