Features of processing the biomass of genus Miscanthus plants into carbohydrate-containing substrates for biotechnology

The article presents the characteristics of the chemical composition of the biomass of genus Miscanthus plants and the features of its use for the production of carbohydrate-containing substrates for biotechnology. It is shown that the Chinese mycanthus “Ferner Osten” is not characterized by a high content of lipidic and protein compounds. The herbaceous plant is rich in cellulose, lignin and fiber. To achieve the maximum conversion of the miscantus biomass, a preliminary chemical treatment with dilute sulfuric acid was performed. The optimal temperature for pretreatment of miscanthus biomass with 1% sulfuric acid solution is 130 °C with a process duration of 30 minutes. With an increase in temperature exposure, the yield of cellulose decreases markedly. Thus, when the temperature rises to 140°C and the process lasts 30 minutes, the pulp yield decreases by 31.38 %. With an increase in the duration of chemical treatment from 30 to 60 minutes, the pulp yield decreases from 79.07% to 61.08%. The residues of oligosaccharides and lignin were determined in the chemical hydrolysates of Miscanthus sinensis “Ferner Osten”. Among monosaccharides, glucose and xylose predominate, 40.5 and 24.4% of the dry matter, respectively. To increase the yield of sugars, it is planned to carry out two-stage processing.