Effect of lignin content of lignocellulosic material on hydrolysis efficiency

Lignocellulosic material is the most promising feedstock for bioethanol production; however, due to the varying physicochemical characteristics of different biomasses, it is necessary to select a biomass with a composition suitable for bioethanol production. For this purpose several different alternative non-food energy crops were chosen to investigate their suitability for bioethanol production, considering their cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content. The traditional three-step bioethanol production process was used, where dilute acid was applied for biomass pre-treatment. Glucose and ethanol concentrations were measured during the process. Glucose and ethanol yields and hydrolysis efficiency were used to evaluate the suitability of different energy crops for bioethanol production. The results show that, with most biomass types, the glucose yield increases as the cellulose content in the biomass rises. However, a sharp decrease in hydrolysis efficiency was noted in the lignin content range of 7 to 9 g 100 g. The lower hydrolysis efficiency also resulted in a lower ethanol yield in the next step of the bioethanol production process for these samples.