Percolation process, pretreatment

Iyer PV, Wu ZW, Kim SB, Lee YY. (1996). Ammonia recycled percolation process for pretreatment of herbaceous biomass. Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 57-58, 121-132. 

Obviously to remove large amounts of asphaltic materials, substantial quantities of clay would be required in both the percolation and hot contacting methods, and the adsorption process then may become uneconomical in the treating of raw residua. With the exception of residual oils containing low concentrations of asphalts, oils to be treated with clay generally receive some pretreatment—for example, with sulfuric acid followed by neutralization of the acid oil, or selective solvent extraction. 

In cellulosic ethanol production processes, a pretreatment procedure is needed to disrupt the recalcitrant structure of the lignocellulosic materials so that the cellulose can be more efficiently hydrolyzed by cellulase enzymes [2], These pretreatments include physical, biological, and chemical ways, such as uncatalyzed steam explosion, liquid hot water, dilute acid, flow-through acid pretreatment, lime, ammonium fiber/freeze explosion, and ammonium recycle percolation [3, 4], Most of these methods involve a high temperature requirement, which is usually achieved through convection- or conduction-based heating. 

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