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Comparison of different chemical pretreatments for their effects on fermentable sugar production from miscanthus biomass

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Abstract

Pretreatment is extremely required in lignocellulosic bioethanol production to improve enzymatic digestibility of biomass by disrupting lignin structure, reducing cellulose crystallinity, and increasing biomass porosity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different chemical pretreatments (dilute acid, alkaline, and sequential dilute acid/alkaline) for the conversion of miscanthus biomass to fermentable sugars. Pretreatments were performed in an autoclave at 121 °C for 30 and 60 min. Sequential dilute sulfuric acid (H2SO4)/sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pretreatments caused the highest lignin removal (80.2–93.1%) but the lowest solid recovery (28.7–34%) among the pretreatments. Additionally, the dilute H2SO4 pretreatments induced significantly lower hemicellulose recovery than the NaOH and lime (Ca(OH)2) pretreatments. On the other hand, the significantly highest theoretical ethanol yield (206.8 mg g–1 raw material) was achieved when the biomass was subjected to 1% NaOH (w/v) pretreatment for 30 min, primarily due to its high sugar production (613.3 mg g–1) and moderate solid recovery (66.1%). These results indicated that the NaOH pretreatment was the most promising option among the chemical pretreatments tested to ensure sustainable bioethanol production from miscanthus.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Scientific Research Project Unit of the Cukurova University (BAP), Adana, Turkey, for their funding of this research, under project No. FBA-2018-9922.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Recep Irfan Nazli & Veyis Tansi

  2. Department of Science and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Osman Gulnaz

  3. Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Cukurova University, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Ebru Kafkas

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  1. Recep Irfan Nazli
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Correspondence to Recep Irfan Nazli.

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Nazli, R.I., Gulnaz, O., Kafkas, E. et al. Comparison of different chemical pretreatments for their effects on fermentable sugar production from miscanthus biomass. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 6471–6479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01558-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01558-y

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