(647c) Hot-Water Extraction Of Aspen Woodchips

This paper discusses the kinetic of hot-water extraction of Aspen woodchips. The Aspen woodchips are obtained from Alberta Pacific Forestry Industries, Inc., Boyle, Alberta. Besides the extractives, hemicelluloses are the most easily separable main component of woody biomass and thus form the bulk of the wood extracts obtained in the hot-water extracts. Xylan is the main polymeric molecule in hardwood hemicelluloses. Xylan is a polymer made of β-xylopyranose units linked through (1→4)-glycosidic bonds, where arabinose, acetyl groups, and uronic acids are also present as lateral chains. Hydrolysis of hemicelluloses or xylan occurs simultaneously in the extract liquor during the extraction process. Hydrolysis produces 5-carbon sugars (mainly xylose), 6-carbon sugars (mainly glucose), and acetic acid.