Conversion of Sweet Sorghum Bagasse Residue to Glucose by Dilute Acid Hydrolysis

In the present work, hydrolysis of sweet sorghum bagasse residue using dilute acid was investigated. The sweet sorghum bagasse residue was from pretreatment. Process parameters investigated include reactor temperature, reaction time, and acid concentration in order to find suitable conditions for hydrolysis of the cellulose fraction. The effects of dilute acid hydrolysis were assessed by glucose yield and decomposition products concentration. The highest yield of glucose, 70.10%, was found at the temperature of 170°C, acid concentration of 1.0% (w/w), and a reaction time of 10 min. Meanwhile, 0.99 g/L of acetic acid, 0.22 g/L of furfural, 0.73 g/L of hydro-xymethyl furfural, and 1.60 g/L of levulinic acid were obtained under these conditions, which concluded that the decomposition of glucose was slight and confirmed the selectivity of this dilute acid hydrolysis of the sweet sorghum bagasse residue. The present work aims to take full advantage of the sweet sorghum bagasse residue and obtain glucose solutions with a low concentration of growth inhibitors.