One Step Conversion of Wheat Straw to Sugars by Simultaneous Ball Milling, Mild Acid, and Fungus Penicillium simplicissimum Treatment

Wheat straw is one of the major lignocellulosic plant residues in many countries including China. An attractive alternative is the utilization of wheat straw for bioethanol production. This article mainly studies a simple one-step wet milling with Penicillium simplicissimum and weak acid to hydrolysis of wheat straw. The optimal condition for hydrolysis was ball milling 48 h in citrate solvent (pH = 4) with P. simplicissimum H5 at the speed of 500 rpm and the yield of sugar increased with increased milling time. Corresponding structure transformations before and after milling analyzed by X-ray diffraction, transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and environmental scanning electron microscopy clearly indicated that this combined treatment could be attributed to the crystalline and chemical structure changes of cellulose in wheat straw during ball milling. This combined treatment of ball milling, mild acid, and fungus hydrolysis enabled the conversion of the wheat straw. Compared with traditional method of ball milling, this work showed a more simple, novel, and environmentally friendly way in mechanochemical treatment of wheat straw.