Maximizing sugars production from cassava pulp using efficient hydrothermal pretreatment coupled with cellulase

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Publication Details

Author list: Varongchayakul S.; Jomkamsing S.; Chaiprasert P.

Publisher: Springer

Publication year: 2024

ISSN: 2190-6815

eISSN: 2190-6823

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85201273847&doi=10.1007%2fs13399-024-06041-y&partnerID=40&md5=3287d78d8e80ee5bc4d5dceb0da8ae05

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

The cassava starch industry plays a pivotal role in Thailand’s economy. A byproduct of this industry, cassava pulp (CP), consists of mainly carbohydrate compounds, comprising up to 80% of a dry weight basis. Given the substantial annual volume of CP generated, it has garnered attention as a second-generation renewable feedstock. To harness its potential and maximize the fermentable sugars conversion, this study used a liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. The LHW pretreatment effectively solubilized starch and hemicellulose while partially affecting cellulose. As observed under a scanning electron microscope, this solubilization induced hollowing and cracking of the lignocellulose structure, causing the enzyme’s accessible surface area to increase. The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose after the LHW pretreatment resulted in a high glucose production rate, but not on the enzymatic hydrolysis of CP1. The glucose production rate between LHW-pretreated CP1 and CP1 showed no significant difference. This enhancement can be attributed to the LHW pretreatment’s benefit to improve enzyme penetration and efficiency. Considering the theoretical fermentable sugars yield in CP, combining LHW pretreatment with enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose yielded remarkably high conversion ranging from 87 to 99%. This integrated approach represents a promising technique for hydrolyzing CP into fermentable sugars, which can serve as a substrate for further fermentation to produce valuable products. As a result, CP holds immense potential as a second-generation renewable feedstock within the bio-circular-green economy model, thus utilizing this waste contributes to achieving sustainable development goals in Thailand. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.

Keywords

Fermentable sugars