Effects of Ammonification–Steam Explosion Pretreatment on the Production of True Protein from Rice Straw during Solid-State Fermentation

It is difficult to obtain high-protein contents from rice straw using direct fermentation due to its low nitrogen content. This study investigates the effects of ammonification–steam explosion pretreatment of rice straw on the protein content after solid-state fermentation (SSF). The pretreatment is carried out under multi-strain inoculation conditions. The samples of rice straw after ammonification (T A ), steam explosion (T SE ), and ammonification and steam explosion (T A-SE ) were compared to the control group (T C ). The results indicate that both ammonification and steam explosion could disintegrate rice straw’s lignocellulosic structure, releasing nutrients that can be used for microbial reproduction. In addition, amino compounds are formed along with depolymerization products, thus effectively promoting the true protein content. Post-fermentation, total crude protein contents of T A , T SE , and T A-SE samples were 2.56, 1.83, and 4.37 times higher than that of Tc samples, respectively, and true protein contents were 2.52, 1.83, and 5.03 times higher. This study shows that the true protein content by combined ammonification and steam explosion pretreatment of rice straw during 96 h of solid-state fermentation was 46.7% of its total matter, rendering it a suitable alternative to high-protein animal feed.