Biomass Photochemistry IX:Photochemical Pretreatment of cellulose and its effect on cellulase efficiency

Abstract

Cellulose derivatives were irradiated by UV light at λ > 254 nm and λ > 300 nm. The degradation of cellulose derivatives was followed by fluorescence, viscosimetry, weight loss and thermogravimetry measurements. An attempt was made to correlate the changes in degree of polymerization and weight of the irradiated materials with the hydrolysis of cellulosic materials to glucose by cellulase under different conditions. The crystallinity and probably the specific surface area are the most important parameters for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. These results and the relative quantum yields showed that λ > 300 nm is excellent for the pretreatment of cellulose.