Monday, April 30, 2012
Napoleon Ballroom C-D, 3rd fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) is a promising biomass for the processing of bio-based chemicals and fuels. The principal carbohydrate reserve is Laminaran, consisting of 20-25 units linked by β-1,3-glucans. This polysaccharide is entrapped within fibrillar walls made up of an inner cellulose layer coated with alginic acid. In this work, the amenability of three brown algal species, Sargassum fulvellum, Laminaria japonica and Undaria pinnatifida, to hydrolysis were investigated using the ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. The dissolved biomass was regenerated and characterized by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray diffraction. More homogeneous macrostructure and reduced crystallinity were observed for IL-treated biomass. Optimization of the mineral acid catalyst concentration as well as the temperature gave the optimal Total Reducing Sugar (TRS) yield. Kinetic studies also revealed that the acid catalyst and temperature were critical for the maximum release of sugars. These results suggest that third generation biomass such as brown algae combined with green solvents such as ionic liquids can be a viable route for the production of valuable chemicals and fuels.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by Priority Research Centers Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0022968).