Modeling, optimization and kinetic analysis of the hydrolysis process of waste cocoa pod husk to reducing sugars

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass represents an important chemical resource. In the quest for the heightened interest for waste management and the successful utilization of solid waste materials into useful products, cocoa pod husk, an agricultural waste material generated in several metric per year (~ 800, 000 MT/per) is a potential source of lignocellulosic materials for chemicals and bio-fuel production. However, its usage is underutilized. In this work multiple linear regression is performed to model the effects of experimental conditions on the conversion process and determine the conditions that maximize percentage dissolution and overall yields of glucose and xylose. The Seaman scheme for biomass hydrolysis is used to develop kinetic models to describe the dynamics of glucose and xylose production. The results show that the kinetic models agree well with data and the maximum glucose and xylose yields from biomass obtained are respectively 43.49% and 11.24% for higher temperature operations (100–150 °C) and 38.28% and 10.27% for lower temperature operation (30–100 °C). The developed kinetic models accurately predicted the acid concentrations with high of R2 value reaching 0.9878.