Are Fall Leaves a Viable Feedstock for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol?
Location
CSU 253/4/5
Start Date
5-4-2010 10:00 AM
End Date
5-4-2010 12:00 PM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
James Rife
Mentor's Department
Chemistry and Geology
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
The purpose of this project is to assess autumn leaves as a feedstock for ethanol production. This issue is immensely important, as civilization is on the verge of exceeding its energy supply, which would cripple the economy and cause countless problems for our society. This research can contribute to the development of autumn leaf biomass as an alternative fuel to ultimately reorganize the economy from being oil dependent to using renewable energy resources. Preliminary work by Burum (JUR, 2008) characterized the structural polysaccharides in leaf litter. The current study repeated his analysis and began strategies for optimizing the production of ethanol from leaves. Characterization of the structural polysaccharides and lignin demonstrated that oven dried leaves are 14.0% acid soluble lignin, 28.7% acid insoluble lignin, 1.6% acid insoluble ash, 16.2% cellulose, 2.7% arabinan and 2.2% xylan.. Comparison of various pretreatments followed by enzymatic hydrolysis gave the following recoveries of available glucose: dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment gave 62%, dilute phosphoric acid pretreatment 44%, pH 4.8 sodium acetate pretreatment 39%, pH 4.8 sodium citrate buffer 48% and pretreatment with a water control 61%. It is interesting that pretreatment with water is almost as effective as pretreatment with dilute sulfuric acid. While leaf litter may have lower amounts of cellulose compared to other plant biomass, that cellulose appears to be more accessible to enzymatic hydrolysis. This can reduce cost and minimize environmental impact, which would increase the viability of leaf litter as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol.
Are Fall Leaves a Viable Feedstock for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol?
CSU 253/4/5
The purpose of this project is to assess autumn leaves as a feedstock for ethanol production. This issue is immensely important, as civilization is on the verge of exceeding its energy supply, which would cripple the economy and cause countless problems for our society. This research can contribute to the development of autumn leaf biomass as an alternative fuel to ultimately reorganize the economy from being oil dependent to using renewable energy resources. Preliminary work by Burum (JUR, 2008) characterized the structural polysaccharides in leaf litter. The current study repeated his analysis and began strategies for optimizing the production of ethanol from leaves. Characterization of the structural polysaccharides and lignin demonstrated that oven dried leaves are 14.0% acid soluble lignin, 28.7% acid insoluble lignin, 1.6% acid insoluble ash, 16.2% cellulose, 2.7% arabinan and 2.2% xylan.. Comparison of various pretreatments followed by enzymatic hydrolysis gave the following recoveries of available glucose: dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment gave 62%, dilute phosphoric acid pretreatment 44%, pH 4.8 sodium acetate pretreatment 39%, pH 4.8 sodium citrate buffer 48% and pretreatment with a water control 61%. It is interesting that pretreatment with water is almost as effective as pretreatment with dilute sulfuric acid. While leaf litter may have lower amounts of cellulose compared to other plant biomass, that cellulose appears to be more accessible to enzymatic hydrolysis. This can reduce cost and minimize environmental impact, which would increase the viability of leaf litter as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol.
Recommended Citation
Menne, Nicholas A.. "Are Fall Leaves a Viable Feedstock for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol?." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 5, 2010.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2010/poster-session-A/16
