Evaluation of Pretreatment Methods in the Production of Ethanol from Cattail Leaves

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

28-4-2009 10:00 AM

End Date

28-4-2009 12:00 PM

Student's Major

Chemistry and Geology

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

James E. Rife

Mentor's Department

Chemistry and Geology

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Previous research in this lab indicated that cattails are a potential source of biomass for the production of cellulosic ethanol since their carbohydrate composition is comparable to that of other plants being considered for biofuel production. To further test the feasibility of using cattails for biofuel production, we tested various pretreatment methods on dried cattail leaves. Before polysaccharides in plants can be enzymatically hydrolyzed to fermentable sugars, the plant material must be pretreated to render the polysaccharides accessible to the enzymes. The purpose of this project has been to compare the efficiency of three pretreatment methods in preparing cattail biomass for ethanol production. In this project dried, powdered cattail leaves were pretreated either by autoclaving them with 2% sulfuric acid or 0.04 M acetate buffer at pH 4.8 for one hour or by incubating them overnight at 40 C° in 72% aqueous ammonia. In each case, the remaining solid was recovered, washed and dried. Samples of the dried, pretreated solid were treated with cellulase and p-glucosidase for times varying up to 24 hours. To compare the efficiency of these pretreatment methods, glucose liberated in these samples was measured by a glucose oxidase assay and high performance liquid chromatography. Glucose recovered in the original pretreatment liquid was also assayed.

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Apr 28th, 10:00 AM Apr 28th, 12:00 PM

Evaluation of Pretreatment Methods in the Production of Ethanol from Cattail Leaves

CSU Ballroom

Previous research in this lab indicated that cattails are a potential source of biomass for the production of cellulosic ethanol since their carbohydrate composition is comparable to that of other plants being considered for biofuel production. To further test the feasibility of using cattails for biofuel production, we tested various pretreatment methods on dried cattail leaves. Before polysaccharides in plants can be enzymatically hydrolyzed to fermentable sugars, the plant material must be pretreated to render the polysaccharides accessible to the enzymes. The purpose of this project has been to compare the efficiency of three pretreatment methods in preparing cattail biomass for ethanol production. In this project dried, powdered cattail leaves were pretreated either by autoclaving them with 2% sulfuric acid or 0.04 M acetate buffer at pH 4.8 for one hour or by incubating them overnight at 40 C° in 72% aqueous ammonia. In each case, the remaining solid was recovered, washed and dried. Samples of the dried, pretreated solid were treated with cellulase and p-glucosidase for times varying up to 24 hours. To compare the efficiency of these pretreatment methods, glucose liberated in these samples was measured by a glucose oxidase assay and high performance liquid chromatography. Glucose recovered in the original pretreatment liquid was also assayed.

Recommended Citation

Krahmer, Kristen and Elijah N. Wreh. "Evaluation of Pretreatment Methods in the Production of Ethanol from Cattail Leaves." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 28, 2009.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2009/poster-session-C/32