Effect of microwave/hydrothermal combined ionic liquid pretreatment on straw: Rumen anaerobic fermentation and enzyme hydrolysis

To explore green technology for wheat straw pretreatment, this study combined the microwave or hydrothermal with ionic liquid ([Bmim][OAc]) on wheat straw followed by rumen fermentation. The optimal conditions of microwave assisted ionic liquids pretreatment (M-I) and hydrothermal assisted ionic liquids pretreatment (H-I) treatment were 360 W and 200 °C, and the corresponding lignin removal rates reached 35.3% and 25.4%, respectively. Rumen fermentation showed that the highest volatile fatty acid (VFA) yield was found in M-I group, followed by H-I group at 234 and 180 mg/g, respectively. As for enzymatic hydrolysis, the saccharification rates at 3 days of M-I (360 W) and H-I (200 °C) were determined to be 393 and 320 mg/g. The optimal ionic liquid dosage was determined to be 30% in consideration of cost and VFA conversion rate. M-I pretreatment plus the rumen fermentation enjoyed the benefit of no enzyme addition and high product recovery, which was worth further investigating.