Fermentable sugars from beet pulp were obtained in a two‐stage hydrolytic process. The first stage involved mild acid treatment to hydrolyze the hemicellulose, producing a pentose‐rich syrup and a cellulose‐rich fraction. The second stage was the enzymic saccharification of the cellulose fraction with fungal cellulases to produce a glucose‐rich syrup. The acid hydrolysis stage was evaluated to optimize the type of acid, acid concentration, temperature and reaction time. Solubilization was markedly temperature‐dependent, whereas the specificity of hemicellulose degradation depended on the type of acid utilized. The effects of different reaction times, enzyme‐to‐substrate ratios and particle sizes on the enzymic stage were studied. Both saccharification rate and the extent of final conversion to glucose were markedly affected by the enzyme‐to‐substrate ratio. Sugars recovered from the enzymic degradation of cellulose were partially fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 4126.
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