Ultrasonically-Assisted Dissolution of Sugarcane Bagasse during Dilute Acid Pretreatment: Experiments and Kinetic Modeling

Deslin Nadar, Kubendren Naicker and David Lokhat
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Deslin Nadar: School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
Kubendren Naicker: School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
David Lokhat: School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Ultrasonic irradiation is known to enhance various physicochemical processes. In this work, the effect of ultrasound on the dissolution of sugarcane bagasse was studied, with the specific aims of quantifying the effect at low solids loading and mild reaction conditions, and determining whether the enhancement of dissolution by ultrasound is independent of temperature. The effects of agitation speed, reaction time, and sonication were examined on the dissolution of the biomass substrate at varying reaction temperatures during the pretreatment process. Sugarcane bagasse was mixed with a 0.3 M solution of sulfuric acid in a reaction vessel to undergo pretreatment. A kinetic model was applied to the mass dissolution of the biomass, as sonicated runs showed higher mass losses at each reaction time, compared to the non-sonicated runs. The ultrasonic enhancement in mass dissolution was seen to increase for an increase in the reaction time. It was observed that the induction period for the dissolution was eliminated by the application of ultrasound. Ultrasound was found to be more effective than temperature at enhancing mass dissolution at low solids loadings, and the effect of ultrasound was also found to be dependent on the temperature employed.

Keywords: biomass; biofuel; bioenergy; pretreatment; hydrolysis; sonochemistry; sugarcane bagasse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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