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Organic Acid Pretreatment of Oil Palm Trunk Biomass for Succinic Acid Production

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Abstract

Purpose

Oil palm trunk (OPT) is a promising lignocellulosic biomass for sugar production due to its abundant availability, low-cost and high carbohydrate content. Organic acids have been suggested as an alternative to sulphuric acid pretreatment due to their lower hazardous properties.

Methods

Various organic acids (citric acid, formic acid and oxalic acid) of different concentration (0.5–5.0%) were assessed to find a suitable catalyst in hydrolysing oil palm trunk biomass (OPTB) for different reaction time (15–120 min) at a fixed temperature (120 °C), and expressed in a combined severity factor (CSF) to allow for xylose selectivity and their performance comparison.

Results

Of various organic acids used, oxalic acid was shown to be the most effective in solubilizing hemicellulose of OPTB, recovering a maximum xylose of ~ 61.2% at a CSF of 0.97. Nevertheless, citric acid-derived hydrolysate was more potent for succinic acid fermentation by Actinobacillus succinogenes 130Z, showing optimal succinic acid titer of 10.62 g/L and yield of 0.47 g/g, which were two-fold higher than those without acid pretreatment.

Conclusion

The capability of A. succinogenes 130Z in utilising both glucose and xylose of OPTB hydrolysates supports development of bio-based succinic acid using oil palm biomass.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Director-General of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) for permission to publish this article. We would like to express our gratitude to the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia for financial support through the grant provided under DIP-2018–024 on the project titled “Integrative Approach of Biorefinery and Energy Generation for High Purity Succinic Acid and Hydrogen Production”. The technical assistances provided by the interns and the staff of the Energy and Environment Unit of MPOB are also deeply appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy and Environment Unit, Engineering and Processing Research Division, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), 6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Nurul Adela Bukhari, Soh Kheang Loh & Abu Bakar Nasrin

  2. Centre for Sustainable Process Technology (CESPRO), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Nurul Adela Bukhari, Jamaliah Md Jahim, Shuhaida Harun & Peer Mohamed Abdul

  3. Chemical Engineering Programme, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Jamaliah Md Jahim, Shuhaida Harun & Peer Mohamed Abdul

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  1. Nurul Adela Bukhari
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Bukhari, N.A., Jahim, J.M., Loh, S.K. et al. Organic Acid Pretreatment of Oil Palm Trunk Biomass for Succinic Acid Production. Waste Biomass Valor 11, 5549–5559 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-00953-2

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