Preliminary evaluation of organosolv pre-treatment of sugar cane bagasse for glucose production: Application of 23 experimental design

Sugar cane bagasse was submitted to ethanol organosolv pre-treatment using a 50 L pilot scale reactor. The influence of catalyst type (H2SO4 or NaOH), catalyst concentration (1.25–1.50% w/w on dry fiber) and process time (60–90 min) on total solid recovery and solid composition (glucan, xylan and lignin contents) was evaluated by performing a 23 full factorial experimental design. Pretreated sugar cane bagasse was further submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis using a commercial enzyme complex formed by cellulases and β-glucosidases. Glucose concentration in the hydrolysates and glucose yield referred to initial raw material (g glucose/100 g sugar cane bagasse) were used to select the best operational conditions. Concerning the enzymatic hydrolysis, the resulting glucose concentration was found to be dependent on xylan contents of the pretreated material. The modelling equations for glucose concentration and glucose yield as a function of the pre-treatment variables and the statistical analysis are also discussed in this work.