Second generation ethanol, an important route in the current situation in view of the various
limitations related to fuels, finds in the pre-treatment process its main difficulty in terms of
yield and costs. Given this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the best pre-treatment
condition for alkaline hydrogen peroxide (30%) from different concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4, and
5%) in two lignocellulosic biomasses, being they: sweet potato variety (Júlia) and sorghum
biomass (BRS 711), in order to obtain greater delignification and consequently greater ethanol
production. A completely randomized experimental design was used, in a 5x2 factorial scheme
with 4 replications. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Soils and agro-industrial
residues at the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT). The chemical composition contents were
determined according to the Van Soest method as mentioned by Silva and Queiroz (2012). The
ethanol production estimate was obtained from the hydrolyzate fermentation, where the CO2
production was quantified, after obtaining the data it was then possible to quantify the
fermented glucose and the ethanol equivalent produced from the stoichiometric equation
described by Gay-Lussac (FINGUERUT et al., 1985). In the sorghum biomass, the
concentration of 1% was the one that demonstrated a lower solubilization of the lignin fraction,
whereas in the raw potato biomass, no significant difference was observed between the
concentrations (p> 0.05). It was observed that in all concentrations the sorghum biomass
obtained lower levels of lignin. Within the sorghum biomass, the concentration of 2% obtained
a lower hemicellulose value, whereas for the raw potato biomass the concentration of 4%
obtained a lower hemicellulose value. the concentrations of 2, 3 and 5% of H2O2 proved to be
higher for cellulose contents in the biomass sorghum biomass and higher than the values found
in the raw sweet potato biomass, for the sweet potato raw biomass the concentration of 1%
showed higher values of cellulose. The concentrations of 4 and 5% in the two biomasses
obtained a higher estimate of ethanol production in relation to the other concentrations. After a
general analysis of the data available in the present work, it is concluded that the concentration
of 5% in the biomass sorghum biomass stands out in relation to the others.
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