Levoglucosan as the Intermediate Product on the Pre-treated Sugarcane Bagasse Hydrolysis Catalyzed by Brønsted Acid

• Published in: Sugar tech : an international journal of sugar crops & related industries Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 234 - 244
• Main Authors: Toif, Meutia Ermina, Hidayat, Muslikhin, Rochmadi, Rochmadi, Budiman, Arief
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.02.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Bagasse; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Catalysts; Cellulose; Decomposition reactions; Dextrose; Glucose; Hydrochloric acid; Hydrogen chloride; Hydrolysis; Levoglucosan; Life Sciences; Research Article; Sugarcane; Hydrolysis; Levoglucosan; Brønsted acid; Cellulose; Sugarcane bagasse
• ISSN: 0972-1525; 0974-0740; 0972-1525
• DOI: 10.1007/s12355-022-01163-x

Cellulose is the primary substance of sugarcane bagasse and is essential for producing chemicals such as levoglucosan (LG), which can be synthesized through various methods, such as cellulose hydrolysis catalyzed by a Brønsted acid. This recent research was preceded by a preliminary study on glucose hydrolysis into LG with hydrochloric acid (HCl) as the catalyst. Following the preliminary one, the main study was conducted in two stages: alkaline-acid pre-treatment to separate cellulose from other undesired components in bagasse and cellulose hydrolysis in generating LG. The cellulose hydrolysis was catalyzed by HCl at temperatures ranging from 140 to 180 °C with catalyst concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 M and solid-to-liquid ratios ranging from 1 to 10%. The experimental results showed that LG could be synthesized from glucose and cellulose, and all the variables observed, namely temperature, catalyst concentration, and solid-to-liquid ratio, influenced the formation of LG. The LG formed was very unstable, thus easily be degraded into other compounds. The cellulose hydrolysis to LG occurred through the following route: cellulose-glucose-LG-decomposition compounds. The reaction's controlling step was the cellulose conversion into glucose for its lowest reaction rate constant compared to the others.