Pré-tratamento termoquímico do bagaço da cana-de-açúcar para a produção de açúcares fermentescíveis

Abstract

Sugar cane bagasse is an agro industrial waste that can be converted to fermentable sugars by using a thermochemical pretreatment. In this work, sugar cane of bagasse was hydrolyzed using sulfuric acid (concentrations of 0.2, 0.5, 1.1, 1.7 and 2.0 M), in an autoclave temperature of 120oC, with a mass of bagasse equivalent to 2.5 g (1:20 w/v), and reaction times of 5, 13.1, 32.5, 51.9 and 60 min. The acid concentrations and times were determined by factorial design and response surface methodology. The colorimetric method DNS (3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid) was used to determine the concentration of fermentable sugars. After statistical analysis, it was found that the linear interaction of time of reaction and acid concentration were significant (p=0.05) and that the values of reaction time and concentration of sulfuric acid that maximize the production of sugars are 1 minute and 0.5 M, respectively. It was also found that with increasing reaction time and acid concentration there is a decrease in the concentration of sugars.