Bioremediation is an effective pathway for the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD), but it often requires the inputs of expensive carbon sources. The AMD is a highly acidic solution and could be used as a cheap source of dilute sulfuric acid for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass in the context of biorefinery. Meanwhile, the organic matter released into AMD in the pretreatment process can be used as a carbon source for AMD bioremediation. Here, AMD pretreatment of corn cob enabled the dissolution of hemicellulosic components into AMD and the enrichment of cellulose in the recovered solid fraction. The solid fraction offered a 93.1% higher sugar yield than the raw corn cob, resulting in a hydrolysate that can be fermented into ethanol with a high yield of 93.2%. The hemicellulose fractionated into the AMD can serve as electron donors for the biological sulfate reduction, rendering removal efficiency of 97.2% and over 60% for sulfate and heavy metals, respectively. Moreover, the lignin retained in enzymatic residue can effectively passivate the pyrite, mitigating the AMD formation at the source accordingly. Overall, the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with AMD opens a new avenue for the management of AMD at both ends and a potentially more economical bioethanol refinery via the complete utilization of major components in biomass.

中文翻译：

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木质纤维素乙醇精炼厂与酸性矿山排水处理相结合：废物管理的一石二鸟策略


生物修复是处理酸性矿山排水 （AMD） 的有效途径，但它通常需要昂贵的碳源输入。AMD 是一种高酸性溶液，可用作稀硫酸的廉价来源，用于生物精炼厂中木质纤维素生物质的预处理。同时，在预处理过程中释放到 AMD 中的有机物可以作为 AMD 生物修复的碳源。在这里，玉米芯的 AMD 预处理使半纤维素成分溶解到 AMD 中，并在回收的固体部分中富集纤维素。固体部分的糖分产量比生玉米芯高 93.1%，从而产生可以发酵成乙醇的水解物，产量高达 93.2%。分馏到 AMD 中的半纤维素可以作为生物硫酸盐还原的电子供体，对硫酸根和重金属的去除效率分别为 97.2% 和 60% 以上。此外，酶残基中保留的木质素可以有效地钝化黄铁矿，从而从源头上减轻 AMD 的形成。总体而言，使用 AMD 对木质纤维素生物质进行预处理为两端的 AMD 管理开辟了一条新途径，并通过充分利用生物质中的主要成分，建立了可能更经济的生物乙醇精炼厂。