Pretreatment of oil palm frond using hot compressed water: an evaluation of compositional changes and pulp digestibility using severity factors.
The influence of reaction temperature (160-200°C), residence time (45-90min), and liquid-solid ratio (8-16v/w) on oil palm frond (OPF) pre-treated with hot compressed water (HCW) was evaluated using severity factors. Effect of the process parameters studied on pulps composition and digestibility were found to be complex. The results revealed that digestibility could not be predicted merely according to composition. Severity factor was correlated with compositional changes and digestibility with good R-squared values at varied liquid-solid ratios (8-16v/w), but not with overall glucose yield. HCW pretreatment significantly improved the overall glucose yield up to 83.72% with severity of 3.31 and liquid-solid ratio of 8.0 compared to untreated raw OPF which only recorded an overall glucose yield of 30.97%. HCW is therefore an effective method for pretreatment of OPF for glucose recovery.
Lignocellulosic Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Chun Sheng
CS
Goh
Hui Teng
HT
Tan
Keat Teong
KT
Lee
D006358:Hot Temperature; D000073878:Palm Oil; D010938:Plant Oils; D014867:Water
D010938:Plant Oils; D014867:Water; D000073878:Palm Oil