Feasibility of Continuous Pretreatment of Corn Stover: A Comparison of Three Commercially Available Continuous Pulverizing Devices

Abstract

We determined the potential of three mechanical pulverizersa continuous ball mill (CBM), an air classifier mill (ACM), and a high-speed mill (HSM)in the continuous pretreatment of corn stover. The mean diameters of the pulverized biomasses were not significantly different in the three cases, and the glucose yields from the CBM-, ACM-, and HSM-pulverized samples were 29%, 49%, and 44%, respectively. The energy requirements and process capacities for the ACM and HSM were similar. We conclude that the ACM and HSM could be used in the continuous pretreatment of corn stover and would be useful in biofuel production.