Analysis of Kinetic Data in the Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Delignified Wood

ABSTRACT

Pinus pinaster wood samples were delignified in HCl-catalyzed, acetic acid media and treated with dilute NaClO solutions to obtain a cellulosic residue highly susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis. A set of hydrolysis experiments was carried out during 48 hours using various enzyme/substrate and liquor/solid ratios. The experimental results were fitted to empirical models, and the equations obtained were used to estimate the conversions achieved at selected reaction times (9 and 48 hours). In order to obtain a generalized interpretation of data, these calculated conversions were correlated with the operational conditions used for pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. This information was used to develop a calculation procedure providing a close reproduction of the experimental data.