Modeling of Pretreatment and Combined Alkaline and Enzymatic Hydrolyses of Blue Agave Bagasse in Corotating Twin‐Screw Extruders

Abstract

A recently developed model for pretreatment and acid or alkaline hydrolyses of lignocellulosic biomasses, including blue agave bagasse (BAB), in twin-screw corotating extruders is extended to the case where enzymes are incorporated into the formulation. The model describes the deconstruction and degradation of BAB, as well as the production of simple sugars at the end of the extrusion process. Experiments using NaOH for delignification and alkaline hydrolysis of BAB, H 3 PO 4 for neutralization, and different enzymatic cocktails for bioextrusion are reported. The effects of temperature, NaOH concentration, enzymatic cocktail used and its concentration, residence time, and configuration of screw elements on degree of degradation and production of sugars are assessed. It turned out that temperature, NaOH concentration, and enzymatic cocktails are the key factors in the extraction and hydrolysis of hemicellulose (H) and cellulose (C) to produce glucose (G). Good agreement between experimental data and model predictions is observed.

An Early Study on the Synthesis of Lignin-Graft-(Net-Poly(acrylamide-co-N,N′methylenebisacrylamide)), Characterization of the Produced Copolymer, and Evaluation of Its Performance as Adsorbent for Lead Removal from Wastewater Purposes

“…Lignin has a heterogeneous structure composed mainly of three phenylpropane units: guaiacyl (G unit), syringyl (S unit), and p-hydroxyphenyl (H unit), where the difference is the degree of methoxyl substitution on the phenolic ring [1,2]. Although vast amounts of lignocellulosic biomasses are used in low added-values applications, such as composting, animal feeding, or burnt for energy producing purposes, their use for more appealing applications has grown in importance in the last few years [3]. If more sophisticated biopolymers are required, some of these applications require to chemically modify the starting biopolymers obtained from the lignocellulosic biomasses.…”