木质纤维素是地球上最丰富的可再生资源,食草动物和食木昆虫能高效消化植物中的木质纤维素,模拟动物消化系统的厌氧消化反应器却达不到相应的效果.为了更好地理解动物消化机理,并应用于厌氧消化反应器的设计和运行,对食草动物和食木昆虫的消化机制以及木质纤维素厌氧消化工艺的发展趋势进行了综述.动物消化系统的高效消化是其消化道中各种酶的协同作用以及一系列物理和生物化学活动的结果.强大的预处理过程能有效支持微生物发酵系统,如反刍动物的反刍、食木昆虫分泌的纤维素酶的催化及食木昆虫其消化道中的碱处理等;沿消化道形成的氧浓度梯度可能刺激一些微生物的水解活性;固体停留时间、消化物流动和终产物排除的有序安排,均能促进动物高效消化木质纤维素.源于瘤胃的厌氧消化工艺接种了瘤胃中的微生物降解木质纤维素,但其厌氧反应器内的环境条件对发酵的限制远远大于瘤胃发酵或后肠发酵的情况.因此,模拟动物消化机制可以更有效促进厌氧消化工艺降解木质纤维素类固体有机物废物.
Lignocellulosic material is the most abundant renewable resource in the earth.Herbivores and wood-eating insects are highly effective in the digestion of plant cellulose,while anaerobic digestion process simulating animal alimentary tract still remains inefficient.The digestion mechanisms of herbivores and wood-eating insects and the development of anaerobic digestion processes of lignocellulose were reviewed for better understanding of animal digestion mechanisms and their application in design and operation of the anaerobic digestion reactor.Highly effective digestion of lignocellulosic materials in animal digestive system results from the synergistic effect of various digestive enzymes and a series of physical and biochemical reactions.Microbial fermentation system is strongly supported by powerful pretreatment,such as rumination of ruminants,cellulase catalysis and alkali treatment in digestive tract of wood-eating insects.Oxygen concentration gradient along the digestive tract may stimulate the hydrolytic activity of some microorganisms.In addition,the excellent arrangement of solid retention time,digesta flow and end product discharge enhance the animal digestion of wood cellulose.Although anaerobic digestion processes inoculated with rumen microorganisms based rumen digestion mechanisms were developed to treat lignocellulose,the fermentation was more greatly limited by the environmental conditions in the anaerobic digestion reactors than that in rumen or hindgut.Therefore,the anaerobic digestion processes simulating animal digestion mechanisms can effectively enhance the degradation of wood cellulose and other organic solid wastes.