Low liquid-solid ratio fractionation of sugarcane bagasse by hot water autohydrolysis and organosolv delignification

In this study, the fractionation of sugarcane bagasse at low liquor-solid ratio (LSR) was firstly reported. The effect of low LSR fractionation of sugarcane bagasse by hot water autohydrolysis and organosolv delignification that consume minimal amounts of water was studied to obtain a cellulosic fraction (glucans) that is suitable for conversion to ethanol. Hot water pretreated bagasse was delignified using varied process conditions: 160-190 degrees C, 30-150 min and LSR 3-9. The results were compared with the untreated bagasse using the same delignification conditions. The delignification of the pretreated bagasse extracted of 86.7% of lignin and produced a solid with 90.0% of glucans (190 degrees C for 150 min and LSR 9). A solid consisting of 82.9% of glucans with a slightly greater lignin content was obtained with a LSR 3 whilst delignification of untreated bagasse extracted 91.3 and 92.0% of lignin (87.7 and 88.4% of glucans) for LSRs 3 and 9, respectively. Low liquor-solid ratio fractionation allowed the direct separation of the hemicelluloses and lignin to produce a solid with high glucans. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.