Iron ion catalyzed hydrogen peroxide pretreatment for bio‐jet fuel production from straw biomass

Abstract BACKGROUND The development of efficient and green pretreatment pathway is of great significance for promoting biofuel production from lignocellulosic waste. The purpose of this work was to evaluate that iron ion‐catalyzed hydrogen peroxide pretreatment can be used as an environmentally friendly pretreatment way for bio‐jet fuel production using straw. RESULTS The effects of iron ion‐catalyzed hydrogen peroxide pretreatment (Fe‐HP) on the enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation and bio‐jet fuel production using straw were investigated. It was found that the iron ion‐catalyzed hydrogen peroxide pretreatment significantly improved the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation efficiency of straw biomass. Subsequently, the directional catalytic transformation of straw‐derived fermentation broth to bio‐jet fuels was achieved using a dual functional catalyst (HSAPO34/NiHBET). High conversion (94.9%) and good jet‐fuel selectivity (77.3%) were obtained in the conversion process of straw. On account of the biomass characterization and the analysis of reactive oxygen species during the Fe‐HP pretreatment, the role and mechanism of the Fe‐HP pretreatment was addressed. CONCLUSION The Fe‐HP pretreatment can be used as an environmentally friendly pretreatment way for jet fuel production from straw biomass. Fe‐HP pretreatment increased sugar yield and sugar concentration during enzymatic hydrolysis, which was beneficial for subsequent fermentation and bio‐jet fuel production. The reactive oxygen species take a prominent role in the Fe‐HP pretreatment of lignocellulose. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).