Time influence in the enzymatic saccharification of cellulose pulp samples

Background With growing concern in obtaining clean and renewable energy, many works in bioenergy has been developed in order to obtain substantial gains for the environment. Due to the large environmental impact associated to the use of fossil fuels, ethanol production from lignocellulosic materia lhas been widely explored, aiming environmental, economic and social benefits. Lignocellulosic biomass, composed primarily of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, can be submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis in order to produce reducing sugars, which in turn can be converted into ethanol. However, for the whole process to become economically feasible, optimization of the conditions is necessary [1]. To find innovative solutions for the use of lignocellulosic wastes, the aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of converting cellulose bleached pulp into reducing sugars from enzymatic hydrolysis, at different exposure times.