화학공학소재연구정보센터
International Journal of Energy Research, Vol.45, No.3, 4508-4518, 2021
Catalytic conversion of corncob biomass into bioethanol
Biofuel is an eco-friendly alternative source for the depleting fossil fuel resources. The catalytic conversion of biomass into biofuel is an emerging technique in biofuel production. In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized from Spinacia oleracea by green synthesis method and subsequently sulfonated to produce active nanocatalyst material. The catalyst obtained has high acid activity and can be readily recovered by an external magnetic field. Corncob waste was crushed to powder form and is subjected to pretreatment by ultrasonication. The compositional analysis was carried out using the Soxhlet extraction method to estimate the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents. The functional group of biomass and morphology changes were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The active nanocatalyst was tested for the hydrolysis of corncob into sugar. The effects of catalyst dosage and temperature on sugar yield were studied. The reducing sugar yield was measured using the dinitrosalicylic acid test. The production of bioethanol from sugar hydrolysate was carried out using a simultaneous saccharification route. A reference sample and the sample with a high yield of reducing sugar were taken into the fermentation process, which was done using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast; this yeast was initially cultured in the YPD medium, and the grown yeast was used in the fermentation process for the production of bioethanol, whose yield was confirmed using GC analysis.