Effect of xylanase supplementation of cellulase on digestion of corn stover solids prepared by leading pretreatment technologies

Solids resulting from pretreatment of corn stover by ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), ammonia recycled percolation (ARP), controlled pH, dilute acid, lime, and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) technologies were hydrolyzed by enzyme cocktails based on cellulase supplemented with β-glucosidase at an activity ratio of 1:2, respectively, and augmented with up to 11.0 g xylanase protein/g cellulase protein for combined cellulase and β-glucosidase mass loadings of 14.5 and 29.0 mg protein (about 7.5 and 15 FPU, respectively)/g of original potential glucose. It was found that glucose release increased nearly linearly with residual xylose removal by enzymes for all pretreatments despite substantial differences in their relative yields. The ratio of the fraction of glucan removed by enzymes to that for xylose was defined as leverage and correlated statistically at two combined cellulase and β-glucosidase mass loadings with pretreatment type. However, no direct relationship was found between leverage and solid features following different pretreatments such as residual xylan or acetyl content. However, acetyl content not only affected how xylanase impacted cellulase action but also enhanced accessibility of cellulose and/or cellulase effectiveness, as determined by hydrolysis with purified CBHI (Cel7A). Statistical modeling showed that cellulose crystallinity, among the main substrate features, played a vital role in cellulase–xylanase interactions, and a mechanism is suggested to explain the incremental increase in glucose release with xylanase supplementation.