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Hydrothermal Treatment of Date Palm Lignocellulose Residue for Organic Fertilizer Conversion: Effect on Cell Wall and Aerobic Degradation Rate

Date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) woodchips, a residue of palm tree plantations, was subjected to hydrothermal treatment (HTT) at mild reaction conditions (160°C < T < 220°C, 0.6 MPa < P < 2.4 MPa) for 30 min, and the effect of treatments on the cell wall (CW) solubilization and subsequent aerobic degradation rate (as CO production) was tested under controlled composting conditions during 63 days of incubation (38°C). The HTT at 160 and 180°C reaction temperatures notably solubilized hemicellulose, decreasing the fraction of this CW polymer from 34.1% in the untreated material, to 9.5 and 4.6% in the respective residues. However, treatment at 200 and 220°C reaction temperatures rapidly liquefied the lignin, which apparently went into solution with hemicellulose and appeared to stabilize a portion of this polysaccharides against hydrolysis. Consequently, the fraction of hemicellulose in 200 and 220°C – treated residues gradually increased; the respective values were 5.8 and 9.4%. The treatment temperature of 180°C was the most effective HTT temperature for subsequent aerobic degradation by solubilizing the largest portion of hemicellulose within the CW, which had two consequences: 1) it supplied additional readily bioavailable form of carbon, which in turn promoted rapid microbial activities in the early stage of decomposition; and 2) it created pores and cavities within the CW, which permitted rapid bacterial penetration and CW degradation. As a consequence, biodegradation of the residue treated under this reaction temperature proceeded rapidly and stability was reached within 21 days, compared to 63 days of continued degradation for the untreated CW. The enhanced biodegradability was also partially linked to the effect of 180°C treatment temperature on solubilization of amorphous cellulose and partial hydrolysis of lignin. Based on the results, the HTT system can successfully be used as a pretreatment step to accelerate the aerobic digestion rate of date palm residues for the production of organic fertilizers.