10-43: Optimization and comparison of dilute acid, SPORL and organosolv pretreatments of oil palm trunk for enzymatic saccharification

Old oil palm trunk (OPT) is available in large quantity in Southeast Asia and a potential lignocellulosic biomass resource for bioethanol production. Three pretreatment methods, dilute acid (DA), sulfite-based SPORL, and ethanol organosolv, were optimized individually first and then compared at their optical conditions in pretreating old oil palm trunk for enzymatic saccharification. The pretreated substrates were characterized and analyzed for chemical composition, and their enzymatic digestibility was investigated and compared. Mass balance was established for each pretreatment method. It was found that organosolv pretreatment had higher cellulose recovery than either SPORL or DA pretreatment. Both organosolv and SPORL pretreated OPT had better enzymatic digestibility (over 90%) than DA pretreated one. Overall, organosolv pretreatment performed better in terms of both cellulose recovery and enzymatic digestibility than SPORL and DA pretreatments.