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Title: Kinetic and process studies on free and solid acid catalyzed hydrolysis of biomass substrates

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:6175255

Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was tested as a catalyst for cellulose hydrolysis. Eighty percent conversion of cellulose into glucose was obtained with concentrated TFA. The kinetics of TFA catalyzed cellulose hydrolysis was investigated. The reaction was found to follow first order kinetics for both hydrolysis and decomposition. The kinetic parameters were determined from experimental data covering conditions of 160-180 C, 10-30% acid, and 1:2 solid to liquid ratio. The hydrolysis reaction was found to be more sensitive to temperature than the decomposition reaction. Use of TFA was further investigated as a pretreatment for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. A two-fold increase in sugar yields was obtained for TFA pretreated samples in comparison to untreated ones. The kinetics of hydrolysis of prehydrolyzed wood by sulfuric acid was investigated. The substrate was first treated with 0.75% acid at 184 C for 4 minutes to remove hemicellulose. The kinetic parameters were determined in the range of 198-215 C and 1-3% acid. A heterogeneous kinetic model was developed to study the effect of particle size on acid hydrolysis of cellulose. It was found that as the chip size increases, maximum glucose yield decreases and reaction time at which maximum yield occurs increases. Acidic zeolites (LZ-M-8) were investigated as catalysts for hydrolysis reaction of inulin into fructose. The hydrolysis reaction was found to follow first order kinetics. Products containing 96 and 75% fructose were obtained upon hydrolysis respectively from inulin and extract.

Research Organization:
Auburn Univ., AL (USA)
OSTI ID:
6175255
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English