Pretreatment Strategies for Optimizing the Lignocellulosic Fractionation of Pineapple Peel Residual Biomass for Energy Purposes

Abstract

Seeking a viable alternative to fossil fuels as the primary energy source, bioethanol has emerged as a promising second-generation fuel derived from lignocellulosic biomass. With Brazil ranking pineapple as the third most produced fruit in temporary crops, this study aims to assess the impact of chemical pretreatment techniques, specifically organosolv and diluted acid, on the residual biomass of Pérola pineapple peel to enhance bioethanol production. Employing an experimental design that incorporates temperature, reaction time, and varying concentrations of organic solvent, the study examines their effects on the susceptibility of the substrate to saccharification for future bioethanol generation. Factors such as alphacellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin were evaluated in triplicate and subjected to statistical analysis using the Tukey test with a confidence level of 95%. Upon application of the pretreatment methods, it was observed that the organosolv solvent approach (utilizing water and ethanol) with sulfuric acid exhibited superior sugar conversion, yielding the highest concentration of xylose at 9.13 g L-1. Additionally, the pretreated biomass contained 1.38 g L-1 of cellobiose, 3.11 g L-1 of arabinose, and 3.76 g L-1 of glucose. This technique demonstrates promising potential for obtaining fermentable sugars crucial for bioethanol production.