Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations

Pretreatment of lignocellulose has received considerable research globally due to its influence on the technical, economic and environmental sustainability of cellulosic ethanol production. Some of the most promising pretreatment methods require the application of chemicals such as acids, alkali, sa...

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Main Authors: Edem Cudjoe Bensah, Moses Mensah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:International Journal of Chemical Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/719607
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author Edem Cudjoe Bensah
Moses Mensah
author_facet Edem Cudjoe Bensah
Moses Mensah
author_sort Edem Cudjoe Bensah
collection DOAJ
description Pretreatment of lignocellulose has received considerable research globally due to its influence on the technical, economic and environmental sustainability of cellulosic ethanol production. Some of the most promising pretreatment methods require the application of chemicals such as acids, alkali, salts, oxidants, and solvents. Thus, advances in research have enabled the development and integration of chemical-based pretreatment into proprietary ethanol production technologies in several pilot and demonstration plants globally, with potential to scale-up to commercial levels. This paper reviews known and emerging chemical pretreatment methods, highlighting recent findings and process innovations developed to offset inherent challenges via a range of interventions, notably, the combination of chemical pretreatment with other methods to improve carbohydrate preservation, reduce formation of degradation products, achieve high sugar yields at mild reaction conditions, reduce solvent loads and enzyme dose, reduce waste generation, and improve recovery of biomass components in pure forms. The use of chemicals such as ionic liquids, NMMO, and sulphite are promising once challenges in solvent recovery are overcome. For developing countries, alkali-based methods are relatively easy to deploy in decentralized, low-tech systems owing to advantages such as the requirement of simple reactors and the ease of operation.
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spelling doaj-art-7dfda7bc0cf045e19929a1b254baffd82025-08-20T02:09:04ZengWileyInternational Journal of Chemical Engineering1687-806X1687-80782013-01-01201310.1155/2013/719607719607Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and InnovationsEdem Cudjoe Bensah0Moses Mensah1Department of Chemical Engineering, Kumasi Polytechnic, P.O. Box 854, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag, University Post Office, KNUST, Kumasi, GhanaPretreatment of lignocellulose has received considerable research globally due to its influence on the technical, economic and environmental sustainability of cellulosic ethanol production. Some of the most promising pretreatment methods require the application of chemicals such as acids, alkali, salts, oxidants, and solvents. Thus, advances in research have enabled the development and integration of chemical-based pretreatment into proprietary ethanol production technologies in several pilot and demonstration plants globally, with potential to scale-up to commercial levels. This paper reviews known and emerging chemical pretreatment methods, highlighting recent findings and process innovations developed to offset inherent challenges via a range of interventions, notably, the combination of chemical pretreatment with other methods to improve carbohydrate preservation, reduce formation of degradation products, achieve high sugar yields at mild reaction conditions, reduce solvent loads and enzyme dose, reduce waste generation, and improve recovery of biomass components in pure forms. The use of chemicals such as ionic liquids, NMMO, and sulphite are promising once challenges in solvent recovery are overcome. For developing countries, alkali-based methods are relatively easy to deploy in decentralized, low-tech systems owing to advantages such as the requirement of simple reactors and the ease of operation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/719607
spellingShingle Edem Cudjoe Bensah
Moses Mensah
Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
International Journal of Chemical Engineering
title Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
title_full Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
title_fullStr Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
title_full_unstemmed Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
title_short Chemical Pretreatment Methods for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol: Technologies and Innovations
title_sort chemical pretreatment methods for the production of cellulosic ethanol technologies and innovations
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/719607
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AT mosesmensah chemicalpretreatmentmethodsfortheproductionofcellulosicethanoltechnologiesandinnovations