Optimization of The Organosolv Pretreatment of Yellow Poplar for Bioethanol Production by Response Surface Methodology

We investigated the optimization of the organosolv pretreatment of yellow poplar for bioethanol production. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal conditions of three independent variables (reaction temperature, reaction time, and sulfuric acid (SA) concentration). Reaction temperature is the most significant variable in the degradation of xylan and lignin in the presence of an acid catalyst, and ethanol production increased with a decrease in the lignin content. The highest ethanol concentration ($42.80g/{\ell}$) and theoretical ethanol yield (98.76%) were obtained at $152^{\circ}C$ (2.5 bar) with 1.6% SA for 16 min. However, because of excessive degradation of the raw material, the overall ethanol yield was less than under other pretreatment conditions which has approximately 50% of WIS recovery rate after pretreatment. The optimal conditions for the maximum overall ethanol yield ($146^{\circ}C$ with 1.22% SA for 15.9 min) were determined with a predicted yield of 17.11%, and the experimental values were very close (17.15%). Therefore, the quadratic model is reliable.