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Separation of the acid‐sugar mixtures by using acid retardation and further concentration of the eluents by using continuous‐effect membrane distillation
Author(s) -
Liu Jianjun,
Qin Yingjie,
Li Pingli,
Zhang Kunming,
Liu Qing,
Liu Liqiang
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4692
Subject(s) - sulfuric acid , chemistry , sugar , hydrolysate , aqueous solution , hydrolysis , chromatography , distillation , fermentation , organic chemistry
BACKGROUND A major cost in acid‐catalysed hydrolysis of biomass to fermentable sugars is the consumption of acid itself. In this study, a combined process was developed in which the acid and sugar in the hydrolysate were separated using an acid retardation process and then the dilute aqueous product streams were concentrated using a continuous‐effect membrane distillation ( CEMD ) process, thus acid could be reused as catalyst. RESULTS The recovery rate of sugar was as high as 94.3–99.2% while the recovery rate of sulfuric acid was 92.4–98.9%. The eluents were further concentrated using the CEMD process. When a solution of 2 wt% sulfuric acid was concentrated to c . 40 wt%, the maximum value of permeation flux ( J w ) and gained output ratio ( GOR ) was 6.20 L m −2 h −1 and 15.50, respectively. Meanwhile, the dilute aqueous sugar solution obtained from corn stover was concentrated 20‐fold to a final concentration of c . 497.6 g L −1 using the CEMD process with a final GOR of 5.5. CONCLUSION The combination of acid retardation and CEMD is suitable for the production of sugar, further purification and concentration of eluents; the sugar solution can be used for fermentation and acid solution can be reused as catalyst. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry