New Test Method for Determination of Hemicellulose in Biomass by High Performance Liquid Chromatography
1. Scope
This method quantifies hemicellulose present in lignocellulosic substrates using a dilute acid incubation period and High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis. This method can be utilized across a variety of substrates containing up to 44% hemicellulosic content.
It is the intention of this method to provide carbohydrate analysis for evaluation of fermentation efficacy for various biomass saccharides associated with hemicellulose. Current fermentation technologies can convert arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose and will leave uronic acids and acetic acids unconverted, so they are not included in this assay. It should be noted that co-quantification of xylose, mannose, and galactose occurs. Additionally, glucose is simultaneously released from cellulose during this assay and the source cannot be determined, so glucose is not quantified in this assay.
Keywords
Acid Hydrolysis; Hemicellulose; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; Biomass
Rationale
It would be beneficial to have a method to quantify hemicellulose that does not require high temperature and high pressure hydrolysis conditions. The method is applicable over a wide variety of feedstocks and is easy to implement in a typically equipped laboratory.
