The Effect of Cellulose Crystalline Structure Modification on Glucose Production from Chemical-Composition-Controlled Biomass

Soo-Kyeong Jang, Hanseob Jeong and In-Gyu Choi ()
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Soo-Kyeong Jang: Forest Industrial Materials Division, Forest Products and Industry Department, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, Republic of Korea
Hanseob Jeong: Forest Industrial Materials Division, Forest Products and Industry Department, National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul 02455, Republic of Korea
In-Gyu Choi: Department of Forest Science, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: The crystalline structure is a biomass recalcitrance factor that hinders chemical or biological access to degrade the plant cell-wall structure. However, controversy persists over whether a ratio of the crystalline region, the crystallinity index, is a critical biomass recalcitrance factor. In this study, an alkaline treatment modified from mercerization was adopted to alleviate the crystalline structure in the xylem of eucalyptus, along with hemicellulose and lignin removal via autohydrolysis and acid–chlorite treatment, respectively. Then, the glucose yield of the treated solid residues was used as a parameter of biomass recalcitrance. The alkaline treatment successfully reduced the crystallinity index, and the maximal reduction ratio was 84.9% when using an 8% sodium hydroxide solution. However, the reduction ratio of the crystallinity index was dependent on the remaining lignin content in the treated solid residues. Additionally, the lignin removal ratio showed critical influence to improve the glucose yield that was even observed in the treated solid residue having a low reduction ratio of the crystallinity index. Consequently, the cellulose crystalline structure is minimally involved with biomass recalcitrance, especially cellulase activity, at least in eucalyptus.

Keywords: crystallinity index; biomass recalcitrance; alkaline treatment; autohydrolysis; acid-chlorite treatment; enzymatic hydrolysis; glucose yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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