Pre-treatment of Pinus radiata substrates by basidiomycetes fungi to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis.

Pre-treatment is important step prior to enzymatic hydrolysis of ligno-cellulosic biomass in order to obtain renewable carbon source ca. glucose. Pinus radiata biomass including wood blocks, wood chips and steam exploded wood (SEW) were used to investigate the effect of fungal pre-treatment on glucose yield. Comparison was made using one white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor) and three brown-rot fungi (Coniophora puteana, Antrodia xantha and Oligoporus placenta). This is the first study where SEW was treated with basidiomycetes and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis gave 5 g glucose/l which is an order of magnitude greater compared to control biomass (0.5 g glucose/l). This enhanced glucose yield is due to the novel pre-treatment sequence used in this study.