Poster Presentation 2-44
Hydrolysis of Sawdust to Prepare Fuel Alcohol
Yong-jie Yan
Department
of Chemical Engineering for Energy Resources
Shanghai
200237, People's Republic of
Sawdust taken as a test
sample was hydrolyzed in the presence of HCl and FeCl2
as catalyst to prepare saccharide glucose and xylose as the desired product, which, after a series of
treatment steps, was fermented into alcohol. A two-step hydrolysis process with
partial recycle was preferred based on the kinetic behavior so that yield of
the desired saccharide was obtained as high as 70% in
weight calculated on the basis of cellulose and semi-cellulose compositions. Operating conditions such as temperature
range, catalyst concentration, liquid to solid ratio, and
recycle ration which affected product yield were studied. In the subsequent fermentation stage,
cultivation of yeast strains as well as fermentation conditions were investigated. Under optimal conditions 70% in weight
yield of alcohol was reached based on the glucose and xylose.