Effect of acid concentration on sugar extraction from oil palm trunk via acid hydrolysis
2009
Rafidah Jalil, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), 52109 Kepong, Selangor (Malaysia) | Mahanim S. M. A. | Wan Asma I. | Puad E. | Shaharuddin H. (eds.)
Biomass is a renewable, carbon-neutral resource and fuels derived from biomass usually burn more cleanly than fossil fuels. Conversion of cellulose and hemicelluloses from biomass to sugars provides a feedstock for the production of bioethanol and will substantially reduce the amount of wastes. The main goal of this research was to investigate the sugar recovery rates from oil palm trunk (OPT) to develop an optimal and economically feasible system for the production of ethanol as a promising fuel and a base material for other chemical products. OPT is one of the potential biomass that can be converted into bioethanol since it has a high content of carbohydrates. OPT contains high moisture content between 60 to 300% depending on its height and age. The carbohydrates in OPT are approximately 46% of the whole OPT. The OPT was initially treated with concentrated sulfuric acid to enhance its accessibility to acid. After that, the OPT was hydrolysed at 100°C and constant heating times for various percentages of sulfuric acid. The solution was then neutralized with sodium hydroxide. Finally, the total sugars in the OPT sample were quantified using refractometer and further analysed for sugar content using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that with the use of 40% by volume of sulfuric acid, the highest sugar yields could be reached within two hours of heating time.
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