Catalyzed modified clean fractionation of switchgrass

Abstract: Switchgrass was used as a lignocellulosic feedstock for second generation ethanol production, after pretreatment using sulfuric acid-catalyzed modified clean fractionation based on NREL’s (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) original procedure. Optimization of temperature, catalyst concentration and solvent composition was performed using Response Surface Methodology, and 59.03±7.01% lignin recovery, 84.85±1.34% glucose, and 44.11±3.44% aqueous fraction xylose yields were obtained at 140.00°C, 0.46% w/w catalyst concentration, 36.71% w/w ethyl acetate concentration, and 25.00% w/w ethanol concentration. The cellulose fraction did not inhibit the fermentation performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and resulted in an ethanol yield of 89.60±2.1%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]