(602bb) Microwave-High Temperature Pretreatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Sugarcane Bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse is a promising lingocellulosic biomass for production of bioethanol. High-temperature treatment is one of the common prerequisites for almost all of the different kinds of pretreatment methods. Using microwave power, besides of creating high temperature, has physical effects on degradation of cellulosic polymeric structure of lingocellulosic biomass. To study the effect of microwave power for creating high temperature needed for pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse, the degree of hydrolysis was measured by assaying both the released total reducing sugars and the glucose, specifically. Different particle size, temperature and duration of exposures to the heat, were the main studied factors.  Afterwards, the enzymatic hydrolysis was studied at different levels of enzyme load and pH. The optimal conditions for microwave pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse were determined by using Taguchi method. The result indicates that while particle size of 35-80 mesh and 1 minute duration time for microwave exposure are common optimal condition for production of both reducing sugars and glucose, other factors like pH, enzyme Load and temperature varies for optimal production of each of them.