A comprehensive review of the application of cold plasma technology in lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a promising feedstock for the sustainable production of biofuels and other biobased products, owing to its abundance, low cost, and minimal competition with food crops for resources. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, forming a complex biomass matrix. Its utilization is hindered by its complex structure and pretreatment is required to break down the chemical resistance caused by the strong association between the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin structures. Conventional methods such as acid and alkali pretreatment are used frequently but they require the use of high temperatures, high pressure, and corrosive chemicals. This has encouraged research into environmentally friendly pretreatments to overcome these challenges. Recently, cold plasma (CP) technology has emerged as a promising alternative to the aggressive conventional methods for producing value-added products, such as biofuels, and renewable chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. Cold plasma technology uses electricity to generate a highly reactive, ionized gas in a variety of applications without producing any dangerous or polluting compounds. This review discusses the application of cold atmospheric pressure plasma in the biochemical conversion of biomass, with a focus on delignification, detoxification of biomass hydrolysate, surface modifications, and process intensification of cellulosic ethanol production.