The insufficient of lignocellulose degradation enzymes, such as cellulase and hemicellulase, is the major obstacle that hinders the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to monosaccharides, especially during the woody biomass hydrolysis process. The addition of additives has received significant attention due to their enhancement of the enzymatic degradation efficiency of lignocellulose. In the present study, a combination of organic alcohols and a biosurfactant could synergistically enhance the saccharification of the cellulose substrate of Avicel, as well as that of pretreated poplar. Results showed that compound additives can greatly improve the conversion rate of enzymatic hydrolysis. The combination of 0.1% (v/v) n-decanol and 1% (v/v) sophorolipid dramatically increased the poplar enzymatic conversion rate from 17.9% to 85%, improving it by 67.1%. Enzyme-rich Hypocrea sp. W₆₃ was fermented to obtain beta-glucosidase (BGL) and xylanase (XYL), which were used as auxiliary enzymes during enzymatic hydrolysis. It was found that the effects of such a combination of additives improved the filter paper activity, stability, and longevity, helping in the recovery of the cellulase cocktail. The compound additives associated with the commercial cellulase and Hypocrea sp. W₆₃ enzyme solution formed an excellent formula for improving the stability of BGL and XYL. The results provide insight into compound additives and the use of a cellulase and auxiliary enzyme cocktail to improve enzymatic hydrolysis for lignocellulose conversion into biofuels.

The drive towards sustainable chemistry has inspired the development of active solid acids as catalysts and ionic liquids as solvents for an efficient release of sugars from lignocellulosic biomass for future biorefinery practices. Carbon-based solid acid (SI–C–S–H₂O₂) prepared from sodium lignosulfonate, a waste of the paper industry, was used with water or ionic liquid to hydrolyze corncob in this study. The effects of various reaction parameters were investigated in different solvent systems. The highest xylose yield of 83.4% and hemicellulose removal rate of 90.6% were obtained in an aqueous system at 130 °C for 14 h. After the pretreatment, cellulase was used for the hydrolysis of residue and the enzymatic digestibility of 92.6% was obtained. Following these two hydrolysis steps in the aqueous systems, the highest yield of total reducing sugar (TRS) was obtained at 88.1%. Further, one-step depolymerization and saccharification of corncob hemicellulose and cellulose to reducing sugars in an IL-water system catalyzed by SI–C–S–H₂O₂ was conducted at 130 °C for 10 h, with a high TRS yield of 75.1% obtained directly. After recycling five times, the solid acid catalyst still showed a high catalytic activity for sugar yield in different systems, providing a green and effective method for lignocellulose degradation.

In order to produce higher titre of cellulolytic enzyme cocktails, present study deals with four Penicillium consortium mixed-culture and to investigate their feasibility of producing higher cellulase and auxiliary enzymes via solid state fermentation (SSF). Among different lignocellulosic waste, rice straw was found to be the most suitable substrate. In addition, the Penicillium consortium in a mixture ratio of 1:1:1:1 which exhibited higher enzyme activity than the monoculture. Nitrogen sources of tryptone had significant influences on cellulase and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) production. The highest cellulase and LPMO activities were 16.65 ± 1.83 U/g and 33.87 ± 0.45 U/g, respectively. The SSF process condition used to obtain these activities were at 30 °C during 5 days. These results show that the optimized studied of mixed-cultivation system with Penicillium consortium have potential to be exploiting a complex consortium for the enrichment of cellulolytic enzyme cocktails for bioethanol processes.