Combined Effects of Solid-to-Liquid Ratio and Ethanol Concentration on the Organosolv Delignification of Extractives-Free Bagasse

The delignification of biomass serves as an important pre-treatment step for the subsequent valorization of the three key lignocellulosic components (i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin). Among the delignification methods, much effort on research currently has been on organosolv processes, especially on ethanol organosolv, due to its advantages. This study investigated the effects of solid-to-liquid ratio and solvent concentration on the ethanol organosolv delignification from sugarcane bagasse. The extractives-free bagasse was delignified for 4 hours at 95°C (open reflux) with 1.50% v/v sulfuric acid as catalyst at varied process parameters: 50-80% ethanol concentration, and 1/20 – 1/30 S/L ratio. The experimental results show that for a low ethanol concentration, delignification is more effective when a low S/L ratio is used. Conversely, a high ethanol concentration can be effectively carried out at a higher S/L ratio. Moreover both parameters investigated have a significant (p