Aspect elucidation of a physicochemical pretreatment for continuous decrystallization

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the operating conditions of a physicochemical pretreatment process for lignocellulosic biomass using homogeneous acid catalysts. Four parameters were studied: moisture content, acid catalyst, type of biomass and reactor morphology. The different types of biomass (perennial grasses: sugarcane bagasse, corn stover; flowering plants: cannabis (stalks and leaves); hardwoods (pulp and bark): poplar, sugar maple; softwood bark) were processed in a meat grinder with sulfuric acid. Furthermore, softwood bark was used to change the moisture content, acid catalyst and reactor morphology. Biomass moisture above 17 wt% yielded less than 50 wt% glucose. Sulfuric acid, by far, had the best performance with a 74.5 wt% glucose yield in the meat grinder. The glucose yield showed a direct relationship with the non-carbohydrate components of biomass (lignin, ash, etc).