Effect of subcritical water pretreatment on cellulose recovery of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipe)

• Published in: Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers Vol. 71; pp. 55 - 61
• Main Authors: Nguyen Thi, Bich Thuyen, Ong, Lu Ki, Nguyen Thi, Dieu Thuy, Ju, Yi-Hsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2017
• Subjects: Cellulose recovery; Subcritical water treatment; Water hyacinth; Subcritical water treatment; Water hyacinth; Cellulose recovery
• ISSN: 1876-1070; 1876-1089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtice.2016.12.028

•The effect of studied parameters on cellulose yield was reported.•Cellulose content after SCW pretreatment was 68.2% which is 131.5% of untreated sample.•Cellulose obtained from SCW and subcritical H2SO4 pretreatments were compared.•The effect of pretreatments on physicochemical structure of samples was studied. The effect of subcritical water (SCW) pretreatment on cellulose recovery of water hyacinth was investigated in this study. Before SCW treatment, cellulose and hemicellulose contents of dried water hyacinth sample were 25.0% and 11.0%, respectively. After being treated at 165°C and 50bar for 30min with a water to dried sample ratio of 10:1 (ml/g), cellulose content in the treated sample was 68.2% which is 131.5% of the untreated sample. Pretreatment using H2SO4 was also carried out in order to understand the effect of the chemical on lignocellulose degradation and compare it with that of SCW pretreatment. The results revealed that SCW treatment was an environmentally friendly method to recovery cellulose and remove lignin from water hyacinth which is promising for bioethanol production. The effects of SCW treatment on the composition and structure of water hyacinth were studied by TGA, FTIR and SEM. [Display omitted]