(535b) Statistical Analysis On Purification of Lignocellulosic Hydrolyzates by Polymer Flocculation

Lignocellulosic materials such as wood present as renewable and sustainable resources for the production of fuels and plastics. Raw lignocellulosic hydrolyzates produced by acid or water treatment contain significant quantities of colloidal material. Separation of these colloidal particles can be achieved by polymer flocculation. Cationic and anionic polymers were used to separate the lignin fractions. The main objective of the work is to demonstrate the efficiency of the factorial experimental designs to elucidate the factors effecting the separation and purification of hot water hydrolyzates of forest biomass. Two factorial experimental designs of flocculation were studied for the polymer flocculation. The response variable representing flocculation was chosen as the turbidity of the clarified suspension (in NTUs). Although the maximum settling velocity and the maximum height of the sediments were investigated, the turbidity was quite representative of flocculation. The independent variables (factors) were chosen as the polymer dosage, agitation level, and the initial pH of the hydrolyzate. A two level, 3 factor (full factorial) design consisting of 8 experimental runs was analyzed for the application of polymer flocculations. The independent factors were polymer dosage, agitation level, and initial pH of the suspension. Experimental runs were conducted in random order, and the Yates algorithm was applied to display the run data.