Effect Temperature and Flow Rate on Lhw Pretreatment SB: Kinetic Study

Assuming xylan hydrolysis to xylose in sugarcane bagasse (SB) by liquid hot water (LHW) and xylose further degradation to furfural were two consecutive first-order reactions, a kinetic model was developed. SB was pretreated by LHW at different temperatures and flow rates, and xylan hydrolysis behavior in SB pretreatment was investigated using the developed kinetic model. Results showed the kinetic model could fit the data well (R²>0.85). k_S (the rate constant of xylose production) and k_X (the rate constant of xylose degradation) at different temperatures was in accordance with Arrhenius equation. Activation energy (E_a) for xylose production and xylose degradation was 50.39 and 104.66 kJ/mol, respectively, which indicated that xylose degradation was relatively more difficult that xylose production during LHW hydrolysis. The relationship between k_S (or k_X) and flow rate was almost linear. The application of the model in xylan hydrolysis kinetics was successful.