Abstract
Cellulosic biomass is one of the most interested materials for biofuel production. However, existing saccharification methods have several problems. For example, high concentrated sulfuric acid saccharification needs high costs for treatment of wasted acid and enzymicsaccharification is slow and uneconomical. Therefore, more effective and economical saccharification methods are necessary. In the present study, we investigated saccharification of cellulosic biomass with comparative lower concentration of sulfuric acid underultrasonic irradiation with different frequencies. Ultrasonic irradiation in water produces a lot of cavities. They cause physical effects, which give high contact efficiency between sulfuric acid and cellulose, and chemical effects based on active species and temperature, which raise the saccharification reactivity. These effects depend on ultrasonic frequency. We obtained following results when sulfuric acid concentration was 50wt%: Sulfuric acid saccharification under ultrasonic irradiation of 200 kHz promoted cellulose saccharification. And also, when reaction temperature rose from 60℃ to 80℃, the saccharification efficiency under 200 kHz irradiation was improved and higher sugar concentration was obtained.
