Research Outputs (Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering)

For information on accessing Research Articles content please contact Salome Potgieter by email : salome.potgieter@wits.ac.za or Tel : 011 717 1961

Browse

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Modelling of Low Temperature Dilute Sulfuric Acid Pre-treatment of South African Grass
(Elsevier, 2018-12-01) Burman, N.W.; Sheridan, C.; van Dyk, L.; Harding, K.G.
Dilute acid hydrolysis is an effective method of pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass. Although there are many studies modelling this pre-treatment at high temperature (120–210 °C), no studies were found modelling this reaction at low temperature. In this study, a long grass species was pre-treated with dilute sulfuric acid (pH 1, 2 & 3) at low temperatures (35 °C, 65 °C, 90 °C). The hydrolysis of xylan was found to obey a bi-phasic model in which there are two fractions of xylan, with significantly different hydrolysis rates. The rates of hydrolysis of the fast reacting fraction was found to obey Arrhenius type temperature dependence (Ea = 155.06 kJ/mol, A0 = 1.65 × 1019/min), which agrees with findings of similar studies at higher temperatures. A negligible rate of hydrolysis was determined for the slow fraction which differs from previous studies. The proportion of the slow reacting fraction (50%) which is lower than previously determined (55%–100%).