Abstract
Solubilization and saccharization of barely straw by hot-compressed water (HCW) treatment were carried out aiming at effective use of agricultural waste. Hemicellulose (arabinoxylan) was mainly hydrolyzied to arabinose, xylose and xylooligosaccarides at the temperature range of 160-220°C. However, cellulose was not hydrolyzed in this range. As a result, cumulative yields of solubllzzed products were less than 55 % . While, the cumulative yields of solubilized products exceeded 55wt % at the temperature range of 240-280°C. Particularly, the yield reached 95% at 280°C. This figure reflects that inorganic component, mainly silica, was also solubilized. In these conditions, glucose and cellooligosacharides were thought to be derived from cellulose as well as hemicellulose. It was suggested the HCW was found to be useful for solubilization and saccharization of barely straw. The products obtained were thought to be able used as feedstock for chemicals and ethanol-fermentation.
