Pretreatment of rice husk in a pilot scale mill for further enzymatic hydrolysis

Abstract

The effect of the mechanical activation of rice husk on the reactivity of its carbohydrates was studied. The activation was performed in a pilot-scale centrifugal roller mill. The mechanical treatment of the raw material led to an increase in its reactivity due to the increase in the specific surface area and amorphization of the crystalline regions of cellulose. The optimum process conditions of activation, leading to the preparation of a reactive product from rice husk, were determined: rotor frequency 1500 rpm, raw material feed rate 30 kg/h. The rice husk particles were ground to 45–50 μm under these conditions. These changes led to a sevenfold increase of the yield of low-molecular carbohydrates in the complete enzymatic hydrolysis of the material.