Sugar Production from Bioenergy Sorghum by Using Pilot-Scale Continuous Hydrothermal Pretreatment Combined with Disk Refining

Cheng, M., Dien, B.S., Lee, D.K., Singh, V. June 18, 2019. “Sugar Production from Bioenergy Sorghum by Using Pilot-Scale Continuous Hydrothermal Pretreatment Combined with Disk Refining.” Bioresource Technology 289:121663. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121663.

Chemical-free pretreatments are attracting increased interest because they generate less inhibitor in hydrolysates. In this study, pilot-scaled continuous hydrothermal (PCH) pretreatment followed by disk refining was evaluated and compared to laboratory-scale batch hot water (LHW) pretreatment. Bioenergy sorghum bagasse (BSB) was pretreated at 160-190 °C for 10 min with and without subsequent disk milling. Hydrothermal pretreatment and disk milling synergistically improved glucose and xylose release by 10-20% compared to hydrothermal pretreatment alone. Maximum yields of glucose and xylose of 82.55% and 70.78%, respectively were achieved, when BSB was pretreated at 190 °C and 180 °C followed by disk milling. LHW pretreated BSB had 5-15% higher sugar yields compared to PCH for all pretreatment conditions. The surface area improvement was also performed. PCH pretreatment combined with disk milling increased BSB surface area by 31.80-106.93%, which was greater than observed using LHW pretreatment.

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• Sample compositions
• LHW inhibitors
• Inhibitor generations