Conversion of waste cellulose to ethanol. Phase 2: Reaction kinetics with phosphoric acid
Abstract
Waste cellulosic material can be hydrolyzed in dilute acid solution to produce fermentable sugars which can then be converted into ethanol. A laboratory investigation was made of the feasibility of using phosphoric acid as the hydrolysis catalyst. The hydrolysis reaction with phosphoric acid solutions was compared with the reaction employing the more conventional dilute sulfuric acid catalyst. The purpose of this research was to examine the hydrolysis step in a proposed process for the conversion of cellulose (from wood, newspapers, municipal solid waste, or other sources) into ethanol - by which a potentially valuable co-product, DICAL (dicalcium phosphate), might be made and sold with or without the lignin content as a fertilizer. The pertinent reaction kinetics for the acid catalyzed production of glucose from cellulose consists of consecutive, pseudo-first order reactions.
- Publication:
-
NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N
- Pub Date:
- May 1982
- Bibcode:
- 1982STIN...8328656M
- Keywords:
-
- Cellulose;
- Energy Conversion;
- Glucose;
- Hydrolysis;
- Reaction Kinetics;
- Solid Wastes;
- Activation Energy;
- Catalysts;
- Fermentation;
- Phosphoric Acid;
- Polymers;
- Sulfuric Acid;
- Energy Production and Conversion