Green Chemistry

Low liquid–solid ratio (LSR) can be used to obtain high-content xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) spend liquor by hot water pretreatment. Developing a technology based on low LSR results in more efficient water usage in the system and thus in lower capital and operating costs. Xylans from xylan rich agro-industrial waste are abundant hemicellulosic polymers with enormous potential for industrial applications. Currently, freeze-dried xylo-oligosaccharides are used as bio-based polymers and hydrolysates containing high xylose contents are converted to several chemical products. In this study, sugarcane bagasse was treated with water at low LSRs and mild temperatures in order to assess the effects of varying the pretreatment conditions on the xylo-oligosaccharide and xylose concentrations, and use a central composite experimental design to optimize the process parameters. The pretreatments were performed in the ranges temperature: 143.3–176.7 °C, time: 20–70 min and LSR: 1:1 to 11:1 (g g⁻¹). The maximum concentrations of xylose and xylan were 13.76 and 36.18 g L⁻¹ (equivalent to 48.29 g L⁻¹ of xylan), respectively, which were achieved by treating bagasse at 170 °C for 60 min, with LSR of 3 g g⁻¹. The amount of xylan removed under these conditions was almost 57%. The soluble xylan consisted mainly of xylo-oligosaccharides (74 wt% of the identified compound in the spent liquor).