Recovery of Sugar and Nutrients from Algae and Colocasia esculenta (Taro) Leaves Using Chemical Hydrolysis

Swati Dahiya, Raja Chowdhury (), Pradeep Kumar, Sanjoy Ghosh and Asha Srinivasan
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Swati Dahiya: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India
Raja Chowdhury: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India
Pradeep Kumar: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201310, India
Sanjoy Ghosh: Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India
Asha Srinivasan: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: Algal biomass and Colocasia esculenta (Taro) leaves are available as waste biomass all over India. These biomasses can be used as renewable and sustainable resources for sugars and nutrients. Recovered nutrients and sugars can be used as cheap raw materials for biofuels and biomaterials production. The hydrolysis of dried algal biomass and Colocasia esculenta (Taro) leaves were investigated using 1%, 2%, and 5% solutions of ferric-chloride, nitric acid, and acetic acid for the reaction times of 30 and 60 min at 121 °C and 103.4 kPa (15 psi). 1% and 2% H 2 SO 4 treatments were used as the reference. The solid: liquid ratio was kept at 1:10 for all the experiments. For algal biomass, a 5% acetic acid treatment for 60 min was found to be optimum with a total carbohydrate release of 44.2 mg/g biomass (solubilized monomers-0.82 mg/g of biomass) and N and P solubilization of 1.8 mg total nitrogen/g biomass and 7 mg total phosphorus/g biomass. Moreover, for Colocasia esculenta (Taro) leaves, the maximum carbohydrate yield of 95 mg/g biomass (solubilized monomers-43.6 mg/g of biomass) and nutrient solubilization of 5.02 mg total nitrogen/g biomass was obtained with 5% ferric chloride treatment for 60 min. The results obtained showed that various hydrolyzing agents used in this study acted differently on different types of biomasses. Acetic acid worked best in hydrolyzing the algal biomass, and for the hydrolysis of Taro leaves, ferric chloride and nitric acid were effective. Statistical analysis showed that the chemical concentration was one of the prime factors for releasing P from algal biomass. For carbohydrate release from Taro leaves, either time or concentration, or both, were the prime factors that affected the carbohydrate release.

Keywords: chemical hydrolysis; algae; Colocasia esculenta (Taro) leaves; carbohydrate; nutrient solubilization; acidic treatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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