Efeito do pré-tratamento ácido seguido de básico na hidrólise enzimática do bagaço de acerola.

Abstract

With the current worldwide search for renewable sources, the use of lignocellulosic biomass waste has a very promising perspective for ethanol production. The process derives from the fermentation of sugar from hemicellulose and cellulose origin, fractions of lignocellulosic materials, by a suitable pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. The waste of acerola is constituted by 40 % of the processed volume, and 24,7 % of cellulose, 19,27 % of hemicellulose and 28,37 % of lignin. The aim of this work was to study the kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis of acerola’s waste in natura and waste pretreated, and also to evaluate the effect of this pretreatment on the hydrolysis. Initially, a lignocellulosic characterization was made with the waste in natura and waste pretreated, and microstructural characterization by means of XRD and SEM analysis. To the waste of acerola, an acid pretreatment was applied, followed by alkaline pretreatment. Then, the enzymatic hydrolysis of waste in natura and pretreated was performed. Commercial enzymes Celluclast 1.5L (Novozyme) and beta-glucosidase (Proenzyme) were used. As a tool to evaluate the variables that influence the process, a factorial design 22 was used with three central points, and the analyzed variables were enzymatic load and ratio of dry weight of waste per volume of reaction. This lignocellulosic characterization showed that the waste of acerola is a viable substrate for obtaining fermentable sugars and its subsequent conversion to ethanol. The acid pretreatment followed by the alkaline showed to be very effective in concentrating the cellulose, by the removal of part of the hemicellulose and lignin, causing an increase of the cellulose from 25 % to 50 %. The crystallinity of waste of acerola was evidenced by X-ray Diffraction and the modification in the morphology of waste, verified by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Through the kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis of waste of acerola in natura and pretreated, yields of 100 % were obtained, in the conversion of cellulose to glucose. The best glucose production was 22,3 g/L, reached in 36 hours of hydrolysis of waste of acerola pretreated, which occurred in the best conditions of enzyme load and dry weight of waste per reaction volume ratio.