Improved Sugars Release from Chili Post-harvest Residues by Dilute Acid Assisted Lime Pretreatment

Raveendran Sindhu; Athira Antony; Parameswaran Binod; Ashok Pandey; Anil Kuruvilla Mathew; Amith Abraham; Edgard Gnansounou

Authors

Raveendran Sindhu Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Tvm-695 019, India
Athira Antony Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Tvm-695 019, India
Parameswaran Binod Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Tvm-695 019, India
Ashok Pandey Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow-226 001, India
Anil Kuruvilla Mathew Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Tvm-695 019, India
Amith Abraham Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Tvm-695 019, India | Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangshimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
Edgard Gnansounou Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Institute of Urban and Regional Sciences, GC A3, Station 18, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

Keywords:

Bioethanol, Pretreatment, Saccharification, Acid, Chili, Hydrolysis, Fermentation

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass seems promising renewable feedstocks for the production of biofuels and other value-added products. It is composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, which are connected by several intra- and inter-polymer linkages. For effective utilization of these components, it is necessary to de-construct the biomass in to individual components, which is carried out by various pretreatment techniques. In this work, chili post-harvest residues were used for the generation of sugars with ultimate aim of producing bioethanol. Optimization of various pretreatment process parameters affecting dilute acid assisted lime pretreatment were carried out by adopting a Taguchi design. Results showed best conditions of pretreatment as biomass loading of 10 % (w/w), incubation time of 30 min, Ca(OH)2 concentration of 2 % (w/w) and HNO3 concentration of 5 % (w/w), which resulted a maximum of
reducing sugar yield of 0.622 g/g.