Co-Products of Bioenergy System: Characterization of Saccharification Residuals

AIChE 2011 Annual Meeting - Forest and Plant Bioproducts Division

Co-Products of Bioenergy System: Characterization of Saccharification Residuals

Han-Seung Yang¹, William T. Y. Tze¹, Jonathan Schilling¹ and Shona Duncan¹

¹Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering

University of Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN 55108-6130 USA

Tel: 612-625-5200   Fax: 612-625-6286

e-mail: hsyang@umn.edu

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification on the reactivity, porosity, and crystallinity of solid residuals of biomass.  Aspen wood flour was pre-treated with a dilute acid treatment followed by enzymatic saccharification.  The solid phase of the saccharification process was analyzed using standard NREL protocols for amounts of lignin, pentosans, and hexosans.  The functional groups of solid residuals were analyzed using mid-infrared spectroscopy and hydroxyl numbers.  The porosity and crystallinity of the solids were also evaluated using respectively, nitrogen adsorption and X-ray diffraction.  Cellulose nanocrystals were extracted from the solid residuals and verified using atomic force microscopy.  The results will be discussed in the light of reactivity, porosity, and crystallinity of saccharification residues to pave the way for down-stream conversion into co-products of bioenergy (bio-alcohol) systems.