Formic Acid as a Potential Pretreatment Agent for the Conversion of Sugarcane Bagasse to Bioethanol

Abstract

In recent years, growing attention has been focused on the use of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock for the production of ethanol, a possible renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Several pretreatment processes have been developed for decreasing the biomass recalcitrance, but only a few of them seem to be promising. In this study, effect of various organic solvents and organic acids on the pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse was studied. Among the different organic acids and organic solvents tested, formic acid was found to be effective. Optimization of process parameters for formic acid pretreatment was carried out. The structural changes before and after pretreatment was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The X-ray diffraction profile showed that the degree of crystallinity was more for pretreated biomass than that of untreated. The FTIR spectra shown at the stretching of hydrogen bonds of pretreated sugarcane bagasse arose at higher number. It also revealed that the cellulose content in the solid residue increased because the hemicelluloses fraction in raw materials was released by acid hydrolytic reaction.

Rice straw and sugarcane bagasse degradation mimicking lignocellulose decay in nature: An alternative approach to biorefinery

“…The crystallinity indices of untreated sugarcane bagasse and rice straw were 44.4% and 37.7%, respectively (Table 2). This result was in accordance with another report 38 . Oxidative pretreated sugarcane bagasse by Fe 3+ /DHB/H 2 O 2 system showed the most forceful attack on crystalline cellulose region and likewise the lowest crystallinity index was obtained from this pretreatment as shown in Fig.…”

Organosolvent pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of rice straw for the production of bioethanol

“…In the present study, acetone pretreatment at 121°C in presence of 0.6% H 2 SO 4 improved the sugar yield after enzymatic hydrolysis. Identical observation was earlier recorded by Sindhu et al (2010) for formic acid pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse using H 2 SO 4 as catalyst. Effectiveness of organosolvent treatment depends on the treatment temperature.…”

“…As reported by Kootstra et al (2009) and Noureddini and Byun (2010) in their studies on the pretreatment of wheat straw and distiller's grains, respectively, high solid loading can also promote the formation of inhibitory compounds, such as furfural, which will inhibit subsequent cellulose hydrolysis. Most of the reported literatures show that a solid loading of 10-15% is good for biomass pretreatment (Li et al 2009;Itoh et al 2003;Sindhu et al 2010;Satyanagalakshmi et al 2011).…”

Alkali Pretreatment of Wheat Straw (Triticum aestivum) at Boiling Temperature for Producing a Bioethanol Precursor

“…Increased CrI of lignocelluloses has been reported in previous studies such as the pretreatment of switch grass with acid, corn stover pretreated with aqueous ammonia, and sugarcane bagasse pretreated with formic acid. [42][43][44] However, 2% NaOH-treated wheat straw had the lowest crystaline index when compared with the other treatments in this study. This is presumed to have been due to the basic crystalline structure of the cellulose having been changed, together with removal of the amorphous substances (lignin and hemicellulose).…”