Industrial Chemistry
Open Access

Abstract

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), Tiger grass (Thysanolaena maxima), Mission grass (Pennisetum polystachyon), Kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum) and Giant reed (Arundo donax) were locally collected to test as bioethanol feedstock. All grasses, showing high cellulose and hemicellulose compositions, were treated by a two-stage microwave/ chemical pretreatment method. The optimum conditions of the pretreatment were investigated and the maximum monomeric sugar yields were compared. The microwave-assisted NaOH and H₂SO₄ with 15:1 liquid to solid ratio were studied by varying catalyst concentration, temperature, and time to maximize the amount of the obtained monomeric sugar. The maximum monomeric sugars released from microwave-assisted NaOH pretreatment were 5.57 g (at 600C/10 min, 0.5%(w/v) NaOH for Napier grass), 6.45 g (at 1400C/15 min, 1%(w/v) NaOH for Tiger grass), 6.56 g (at 1200C/10 min, 3% (w/v) NaOH for Mission grass), 6.78 g (at 800C/5 min, 5% (w/v) NaOH for Kans grass), and 6.84 g (at 1200C/5 min, 5% (w/v) NaOH for Giant reed) per 100 g biomass, while maximum monomeric sugars from microwaveassisted H2SO4 pretreatment were 42.03 g (at 1600C/15 min, 1% (w/v) H₂SO₄ for Napier grass), 30.37 g (at 2000C/5 min, 0.5% (w/v) H2SO4 for Tiger grass), 34.34 g (at 2000C/5 min, 1%(w/v) H₂SO₄ for Mission grass), 33.76 g (at 2000C/10 min, 0.5% (w/v) H2SO4 for Kans grass), and 31.91 g (at 1800C/30 min, 0.5% (w/v) H₂SO₄ for Giant reed) per 100 g biomass.

Biography

Sujitra Wongkasemjit has completed her PhD from West Virginia University and Post-doctoral studies from Food and Drug Administration, USA. She is a Professor of Petroleum and Petrochemical College, Chulalongkorn University. She has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals, 7 local patents, 2/3 books/book chapters, and more than 200 international presentations.

Email: dsujitra@chula.ac.th