title: Hydrolysis of dilute acid-pretreated cellulose under mild hydrothermal conditions.
abstract: The hydrolysis of dilute acid-pretreated cellulose was investigated in a conventional oven and under microwave heating. Two acids--sulfuric and oxalic--were studied. For both hydrothermal conditions (oven and microwave) the resultant total organic carbon (TOC) values obtained by the hydrolysis of the cellulose pretreated with sulfuric acid were higher than those obtained by the hydrolysis of the cellulose pretreated with oxalic acid. However, the dicarboxylic acid exhibited higher hydrolytic efficiency towards glucose. The hydrolysis of cellulose was greatly promoted by microwave heating. The Rietveld method was applied to fit the X-ray patterns of the resultant cellulose after hydrolysis. Oxalic acid preferentially removed the amorphous region of the cellulose and left the crystalline region untouched. On the other hand, sulfuric acid treatment decreased the ordering of the cellulose by partially disrupting its crystalline structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Campus Sescelades, Av Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain. Electronic address: ricardojose.chimenton@urv.cat.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Chimentão
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Campus Sescelades, Av Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lorente
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Campus Sescelades, Av Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gispert-Guirado
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Campus Sescelades, Av Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Campus Sescelades, Av Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006361:Heating; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008872:Microwaves; D019815:Oxalic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D002482:Cellulose; D019815:Oxalic Acid; C033158:sulfuric acid
keywords: Cellulose; Dilute acid; Glucose; Hydrolysis; Microwave assisted