Effect of Pretreatment on the Structure and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Pineapple Waste Biomass in Hydrothermal Deconstruction

Abstract

Pineapple biomass represents an abundant renewable source of carbon and a promising feedstock with considerable potential for the production of sustainable fuels. In the present study, the influence of liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment on the pineapple mother plant was investigated at different controlled severities, then characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results show that LHW pretreatment causes structural changes, leading to lignin and hemicellulose depolymerization up to a severity factor of 2.36–3.55, whereas at severity factors in the range of 4.13–5.90, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin appear to repolymerize. This pretreatment resulted in a higher hydrolysis efficiency (94.92 ± 0.04%) at 50 °C for 72 h. Compared with the untreated sample, the hydrolysis rate under these conditions increased by a factor of 2.16. SEM imaging revealed significant disruption of the PMP microstructure following LHW treatment, while XRD data confirmed an increase in the crystallinity index. FTIR analysis further indicated modifications in functional group profiles, supporting the structural and compositional changes induced by pretreatment. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of LHW pretreatment in enhancing the enzymatic digestibility and modifying the physicochemical properties of PMP biomass, providing a foundation for its valorization into high value bioproducts.