Full-Chain FeCl<sub>3</sub> Catalyzation Is Sufficient to Boost Cellulase Secretion and Cellulosic Ethanol along with Valorized Supercapacitor and Biosorbent Using Desirable Corn Stalk
Jingyuan Liu,
Xin Zhang,
Hao Peng,
Tianqi Li,
Peng Liu,
Hairong Gao,
Yanting Wang,
Jingfeng Tang,
Qiang Li,
Zhi Qi,
Liangcai Peng,
Tao Xia
Affiliations
Jingyuan Liu
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Xin Zhang
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Hao Peng
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Tianqi Li
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Peng Liu
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Hairong Gao
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Yanting Wang
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Jingfeng Tang
Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), National “111” Center for Cellular Regulation & Molecular Pharmaceutics, Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), College of Biotechnology & Food Science, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, China
Qiang Li
College of Engineering, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Zhi Qi
State Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
Liangcai Peng
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Tao Xia
Biomass & Bioenergy Research Center, College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Cellulosic ethanol is regarded as a perfect additive for petrol fuels for global carbon neutralization. As bioethanol conversion requires strong biomass pretreatment and overpriced enzymatic hydrolysis, it is increasingly considered in the exploration of biomass processes with fewer chemicals for cost-effective biofuels and value-added bioproducts. In this study, we performed optimal liquid-hot-water pretreatment (190 °C for 10 min) co-supplied with 4% FeCl3 to achieve the near-complete biomass enzymatic saccharification of desirable corn stalk for high bioethanol production, and all the enzyme-undigestible lignocellulose residues were then examined as active biosorbents for high Cd adsorption. Furthermore, by incubating Trichoderma reesei with the desired corn stalk co-supplied with 0.05% FeCl3 for the secretion of lignocellulose-degradation enzymes in vivo, we examined five secreted enzyme activities elevated by 1.3–3.0-fold in vitro, compared to the control without FeCl3 supplementation. After further supplying 1:2 (w/w) FeCl3 into the T. reesei-undigested lignocellulose residue for the thermal-carbonization process, we generated highly porous carbon with specific electroconductivity raised by 3–12-fold for the supercapacitor. Therefore, this work demonstrates that FeCl3 can act as a universal catalyst for the full-chain enhancement of biological, biochemical, and chemical conversions of lignocellulose substrates, providing a green-like strategy for low-cost biofuels and high-value bioproducts.