ISSN: 1546-962X
CODEN: JAIOAD
Published Online: 10 May 2010
Page Count: 8

Pretreatment of Douglas Fir Wood Biomass for Improving Saccharification Efficiencies

Singhania, Reeta Rani
Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, Trivandrum,

Chiesa, Simone
Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group (BPE), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne,

Sukumaran, Rajeev Kumar
Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, Trivandrum,

Villegas, Juan David
Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group (BPE), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne,

Patel, Anil K.
North Maharashtra Univ., Jalgaon,

Gnansounou, Edgard
Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group (BPE), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne,

Pandey, Ashok
Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR, Trivandrum,

(Received 5 August 2009; accepted 14 March 2010)

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to analyze dilute acid pretreatment for the Douglas fir wood in order to improve the efficiency of hydrolysis with an ultimate aim to produce bioethanol. Compositional analysis of the untreated Douglas fir biomass revealed the presence of 63.3 % carbohydrate of which 57.2 % was C6 sugars. The total lignin content was approximately 30 %. A partial fractional factorial design was opted for performing the pretreatment experiments employing sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Acid concentration, solids loading, residence time, reaction temperature, and particle size of feedstock were evaluated simultaneously for improving the enzymatic digestibility of Douglas fir biomass. Enzymatic saccharification of the pretreated biomass was done using a commercial cellulase preparation and the total reducing sugars liberated was monitored. Saccharification efficiency was correlated with the parameters and the best combination of parameters for obtaining feedstock suited for enzymatic saccharification was determined.

Keywords:
Douglas fir wood, biomass, dilute acid pretreatment, cellulase

Paper ID: JAI102560
DOI: 10.1520/JAI102560
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