Pyrolysis and acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass as a tool for monosaccharide obtaining

Abstract

Due to the ever increasing demand for energy resources, more and more attention is being paid to renewable energy resources. One such potential resource is lignocellulosic biomass that can be treated to acquire a carbohydrate rich substrate for further use in producing biofuels such as bioethanol or biobutanol. In this study, birch (Betula pendula) chips were used in fast pyrolysis to acquire bio-oil. This bio-oil was further hydrolyzed in pressurized reactor Parr 4554 to produce a carbohydrate rich feedstock. Hydrolysis conditions were optimized. Several conditions - three different temperatures (111, 121, 131 °C) and four different sulfuric acid concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 M) were tested. The optimal conditions were 121 °C with 0.2 M sulfuric acid as a catalyst that allowed to acquire a solution with the total glucose concentration being 6.6% that can be further used as a feedstock for biofuel acquiring.