Pretreatment of Biomass with Gamma Rays and Electron Beam for Ethanol Production via Enzymatic Hydrolysis: A Brief Review

 Lignocellulosic biomass, sourced from non-edible plant materials like bagasse, straw, and other agricultural residues, represents a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Effective pretreatment is essential for modifying the structural inte...

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Main Authors: Leonardo Yago Zwetsch Varella, Amir Zacarias Mesquita, Daniel Bastos de Rezende, Erika Cristina Cren, Vitor Fernandes de Almeida Fernandes de Almeida, Walewska Gouveia Silva, Thêssa Cristina Alonso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2025-03-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
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Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/2575
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Summary: Lignocellulosic biomass, sourced from non-edible plant materials like bagasse, straw, and other agricultural residues, represents a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Effective pretreatment is essential for modifying the structural integrity of biomass, thereby increasing the accessibility of cellulose and hemicellulose for enzymatic hydrolysis. This paper analyzes two pretreatment methodologies, highlighting the role of gamma-ray and electron beam irradiation. These methods leverage photons and high-energy particles to induce structural and chemical modifications in lignocellulosic biomass, which facilitate a more efficient breakdown into fermentable sugars during hydrolysis. This work showed that both irradiation methods not only increase the yield of fermentable sugars but also do it without the need for hazardous chemicals, thus presenting an environmentally benign alternative to conventional pretreatment methods and presents the potential of these irradiation techniques in streamlining bioethanol production processes, advocating for further research and technological development to fully harness their benefits in industrial applications.
ISSN:2319-0612