Silica bodies: possible physical barriers to chemical penetration during pretreatment

It is known silica content is high for non-woody lignocellulosic biomass.The deposition of silica bodies in biologically engineered craters was found to be a unique feature, which leads to some silica-rich spots on the surface of cell wall. On one hand, the silica will cause scaling problems if not treated properly; on the other hand, they also become barriers for chemical pretreatment. It is neccessary to dissolve the silica through pretreatment. Therefore, the chemicals used and the pH for pretreatment need to be chosen carefully.