Tuesday, April 20, 2010
LL Conference Facility (Hilton Clearwater Beach)
Rapeseed straw is a lignocellulosic material containing on average 33% cellulose and 22% hemicelluloses (dry basis), lacking of practical alternatives. It is a renewable, low cost agricultural residue which must be eliminated from fields, whose conversion into fuel ethanol has been proposed. This work presents preliminary results on dilute acid pretreatment using rapeseed straw as raw material. The effect of the main pretreatment variables on enzymatic hydrolysis and sugar generation is examined. Sulfuric acid concentration, in the range 0.5-2 % (w/w), pretreatment temperature, from 140 to 200ºC, and process time, varying from o to 20 min, were selected as factors for experimental design. After pretreatment, the resulting solid material was further submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis by a commercial enzyme complex. Liquid fractions were also characterized for sugar and other products determination. The influence of the main pretreatment variables on enzymatic hydrolysis is discussed using an experimental design approach.