Phosphomolybdic acid and ferric iron as efficient electron mediators for coupling biomass pretreatment to produce bioethanol and electricity generation from wheat straw.

Phosphomolybdic acid (PMo12) was used as an electron mediator and proton carrier to mediate biomass pretreatment for ethanol production and electricity generation from wheat straw. In the pretreatment, lignin was oxidized anaerobically by PMo12 with solubilization of a fraction of hemicelluloses, and the PMo12 was simultaneously reduced. In an external liquid flow cell, the reduced PMo12 was re-oxidized with generation of electricity. The effects of several factors on pretreatment were investigated for optimizing the conditions. Enzymatic conversion of cellulose and xylan were about 80% and 45%, respectively, after pretreatment of wheat straw with 0.25M PMo12, at 95°C for 45min. FeCl3 was found to be an effective liquid mediator to transfer electrons to air, the terminal electron acceptor. By investigating the effects of various operation parameters and cell structural factors, the highest output power density of about 11mW/cm2 was obtained for discharging of the reduced PMo12.