Optimization of The Organosolv Pretreatment of Yellow Poplar for Bioethanol Production by Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

We investigated the optimization of the organosolv pretreatment of yellow poplar for bioethanol production. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal conditions of three independent variables (reaction temperature, reaction time, and sulfuric acid (SA) concentration). Reaction temperature is the most significant variable in the degradation of xylan and lignin in the presence of an acid catalyst, and ethanol production increased with a decrease in the lignin content. The highest ethanol concentration (42.80 g/ℓ ) and theoretical ethanol yield (98.76%) were obtained at 152℃ (2.5 bar) with 1.6% SA for 16 min. However, because of excessive degradation of the raw material, the overall ethanol yield was less than under other pretreatment conditions which has approximately 50% of WIS recovery rate after pretreatment. The optimal conditions for the maximum overall ethanol yield (146℃ with 1.22% SA for 15.9 min) were determined with a predicted yield of 17.11%, and the experimental values were very close (17.15%). Therefore, the quadratic model is reliable.

Effect of the Growth Period on Bioethanol Production from the Branches of Woody Crops Cultivated in Short-rotation Coppices

“…The most important short-rotation woody crops cultivated in the Republic of Korea are the hybrids Populus nigra × Populus maxiwiczii, Populus euramericana, Populus alba × Populus glandulosa, and Salix alba. Most of the biomass produced from these crops are used as pellets or chips, and only a limited amount of biomass is used as a source for producing bioethanol (Kim et al, 2011;Kim et al, 2015).…”

A Two-stage Process for Increasing the Yield of Prebiotic-rich Extract from Pinus densiflora

“…Recently, numerous reports have described the use of the response surface methodology (RSM) for the optimization of the extraction of polysaccharides from lignocellulosic biomasses, followed by the determination of the antioxidant properties of the extracted polysaccharides (Jung et al, 2012;Kim et al, 2015).…”

Conversion of Glucose and Xylose to 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural, Furfural, and Levulinic Acid Using Ethanol Organosolv Pretreatment under Various Conditions

“…The reactions associated with the conversion of glucose and xylose were investigated under various reaction conditions to improve the yields of the products. The reactions associated with the solubilization and removal of hemicellulose and those associated with the dehydration and conversion of hemicelluloses should be understood to realize the effective organosolv pretreatment method that can be used to treat lignocellulosic biomass (Kim et al, 2015a). Organosolv pretreatment has been considered to be effective for high lignin containing lignocellulosic biomass such as woods due to solubilization of lignin and breakdown of internal lignin and hemicellulose bonds (Holtzapple and Humphrey, 1984;Kim et al, 2015b).…”