Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microwave Assisted Acid Pretreatment of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) to Enhance Its Fermentable Sugar Production

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Waste and Biomass Valorization Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The influence of sulfuric acid concentration in aqueous glycerol during microwave pretreatment on the chemical content and morphological characteristics changes of pretreated EFB were investigated. After pretreatment, the pulp was further subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis. The micro-morphology and crystallinity of original and pretreated EFB were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. Lignin content of pretreated EFB was determined, while hydrolysate after enzymatic hydrolysis was also analyzed the reducing sugar content. These results indicated that microwave assisted acid pretreatment of EFB caused weight loss. Evaluation on effect of varying acid concentration and residence times results 1 % acid concentration for 12.5 min as the best pretreatment condition. Under the best pretreatment condition, lignin removal was about 59.16 % with the reducing sugar yield per original EFB was 25.09 or 55.85 % per pretreated EFB. The acid–glycerol catalyst successfully improved reducing sugar yield compared to both untreated and biological pretreated samples. SEM images revealed that the pretreated of EFB surface changed noticeably and the increase of crystallinity degree of pretreated EFB indicated a great effect on amorphous region to crystalline region. The addition glycerol in reaction mixture both acid and alkaline has synergistic effect to increase reducing sugar yield. Much volume of glycerol in mixture has great effect to improve enzymatic hydrolysis performance than that of acid ones. The highest reducing sugar yield is produced as much as 98 % when EFB irradiated using glycerol–acid ratio of 1:2 for 12.5 min at 1 % acid concentration. The addition glycerol of 2 fold can increase 3.9 fold reducing sugar yield in the best pretreatment condition. Microwave assisted acid pretreatment in aqueous glycerol was an effective way to increase reducing sugar yield of EFB by lignin removal and fiber disruption.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mohammad, N., Alam, M.Z., Kabbashi, N.A., Ahsan, A.: Effective composting of oil palm industrial waste by filamentous fungi: a review. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 58, 69–78 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ishola, M.M., Isroi, Taherzadeh, M.J.: Effect of fungal and phosphoric acid pretreatment on ethanol production from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB). Bioresour. Technol. 165, 9–12 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Syafwina, S., Honda, Y., Watanabe, T., Kuwahara, M.: Pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch by white-rot fungi for enzymatic saccarification. Wood Res. 89, 19–20 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Menon, N.R., Rahman, Z.A., Bakar, N.A.: Empty fruit bunches evaluation: mulch in plantation vs fuel for electricity generation. Oil Palm Ind. Econ. J. 3(2), 15–20 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sun, Y., Cheng, J.: Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials for ethanol production: a review. Bioresour. Technol. 83, 1–11 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hassan, A., Salema, A.A., Ani, F.N., Bakar, A.A.: A review on oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials. Polym. Compos. 31, 2079–2101 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gong, G., Liu, D., Huang, Y.: Microwave-assisted organic acid pretreatment for enzymatic hydrolysis of rice straw. Biosyst. Eng. 107(2), 67–73 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Fatriasari, W.: Reducing sugar production through pretreatment process engineering of betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper (Schult. f)). Doctoral Thesis. Graduate School, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia (2014)

  9. Hu, Z., Wen, Z.: Enhancing enzymatic digestibility of switchgrass by microwave-assisted alkali pretreatment. Biochem. Eng. J. 38(3), 369–378 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Nomanbhay, S.M., Hussain, R., Palanisamy, K.: Microwave-assisted alkaline pretreatment and microwave assisted enzymatic saccharification of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber for enhanced fermentable sugar yield. J. Sustain. Bioenergy Syst. 3(1), 7–17 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Azuma, J., No, J.H., Isaka, M., Koshijima, T.: Microwave irradiation of lignocellulosic materials: IV. Enhancement of enzymatic susceptibility of microwave-irradiated softwoods. Wood Res. 71, 13–24 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Binod, P., Satyanagalakshmi, K., Sindhu, R., Janu, K.U.: Short duration microwave assisted pretreatment enhances the enzymatic saccharification and fermentable sugar yield from sugarcane bagasse. Renew. Energy 37(1), 109–116 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhu, S., Wu, Y., Yu, Z., Chen, Q., Wu, G., Yu, F., Wang, C., Jin, S.: Microwave assisted alkali pre-treatment of wheat straw and its enzymatic hydrolysis. Process Biochem. 94(3), 437–442 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Li, Z., Jiang, Z., Fei, B., Yu, Y., Cai, Z.: Effective of microwave-KOH pretreatment on enzymatic hydrolysis of bamboo. J. Sustain. Bioenergy Syst. 2, 104–107 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Novo, L.P., Gurgel, L.V.A., Marabezi, K., da Silva Curvelo, A.A.: Delignification of sugarcane bagasse using glycerol–water mixtures to produce pulps for saccharification. Bioresour. Technol. 102, 10040–10046 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kheswani, D.R.: Microwave pretreatment of switchgrass for bioethanol production, Doctoral Thesis, in Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (2009)

  17. Liu, J., Takada, R., Karita, S., Watanabe, T., Honda, Y., Watanabe, T.: Microwave-assisted pretreatment of recalcitrant softwood in aqueous glycerol. Bioresour. Technol. 101(23), 9355–9360 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kucuk, M.H., Dermibas, A.: Delignification of ailanthus-altissima and spruce orientalis with glycerol at atmospheric-pressure. Cellul. Chem. Technol. 27(6), 679–686 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Martín, C., Puls, J., Saake, B., Schreiber, A.: Effect of glycerol preatreatment on component recovery and enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse. Cellul. Chem. Technol. 45(7–8), 487–494 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Sun, F., Chen, H.: Evaluation of enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw pretreated by atmospheric glycerol autocatalysis. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 82, 1039–1044 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Sun, F., Chen, H.: Organosolv pretreatment by crude glycerol from oleochemicals industry for enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw. Bioresour. Technol. 99, 5474–5479 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. de Souza Moretti, M.M., Bocchini-Martins, D.A., da Nunes, C.C.C., Villena, M.A., Perrone, O.M., da Silva, R., Boscolo, M., Gomes, E.: Pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse with microwaves irradiation and its effects on the structure and on enzymatic hydrolysis. Appl. Energy 122, 189–195 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Anita, S.H., Risanto, L., Hermiati, E., Fatriasari, W.: Pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) using microwave irradiation. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium of IWORS (Indonesia Wood Research Society). Jogjakarta, Indonesia, 3–4 November 2011, pp. 348–354. Indonesian Wood Research Society (IwoRS) (2012)

  24. Risanto, L, Anita, S.H., Hermiati, E., Falah, F.: Microwave irradiation and enzymatic hydrolysis of sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria). In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium of IWORS (Indonesia Wood Research Society). Jogjakarta, Indonesia, 3–4 November 2011, pp. 355–361. Indonesian Wood Research Society (IWoRS) (2011a)

  25. Risanto, L., Anita, S.H., Fatriasari, W., Prasetyo, K.W.: Biological pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber by mixed culture two white rot fungi. In: Proceedings of the 5th Indonesian Biotechnology Conference An International Forum. Mataram, Indonesia, 4–7 July 2012, pp. 550–558. Indonesian Biotechnology Consortium, (2012b)

  26. Kurada, K.: Mokuzai bunseki. In: Yoshida, H. (ed.) Mokushitsu kagaku jikken manual. Buneido shuppan, Tokyo (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Pandey, K.K., Pitman, A.J.: FT IR studies of the changes in wood chemistry folowing decay by brown-rot and white-rot fungi. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad. 52, 151–160 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhao, H.K., Kwak, J.H., Wang, Y., Franz, J.A., White, J.M., Holladay, J.E.: Effects of crystallinity on dilute acid hydrolysis of cellulose by cellulose ball-milling study. Energy Fuels 20(2), 807–811 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Focher, B., Pala, M.T., Canetti, M., Torri, G., Cosentino, C., Gastaldi, G.: Structural differences between non-wood plant celluloses: evidence from solid state NMR, vibrational spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Ind. Crops Prod. 13, 193–208 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Oh, S.Y., Yoo, D.I., Shin, Y., Seo, G.: FTIR analysis of cellulose treated with sodium hydroxide and carbon dioxide. Carbohydr. Res. 340(3), 417–428 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Wada, M., Okano, T., Sugiyama, J.: Allomorphs of native crystalline cellulose I evaluated by two equatorial d-spacings. J. Wood Sci. 47, 124–128 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Selig, M., Weiss, N., Ji, Y.: Enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass. Laboratory Analytical Procedure (LAP), Technical Report NREL/TP-510-42629. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado (2008)

  33. Wrolstad, E.R., Acree, T.E., Eric, M., Decker, A., Penner, H., Reid, D.S.: Handbook of Food Analytical Chemistry: Water, Proteins, Enzymes, Lipids, and Carbohydrates. Wiley, London (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Fatriasari, W., Syafii, W., Wistara, N.J., Syamsu, K., Prasetya, B.: Digestibility of betung bamboo fiber following fungal pretreatment. Makara J. Technol. 18(2), 51–58 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Fatriasari, W., Syafii, W., Wistara, N., Syamsu, K., Prasetya, B.: Performance of microwave pretreatment on enzymatic and microwave hydrolysis of betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper). Teknologi Indonesia 37(3), 147–153 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Warrand, J., Janssen, H.G.: Controlled production of oligosaccharides from amylose by acid-hydrolysis under microwave treatment: comparison with conventional heating. Carbohydr. Polym. 69(2), 353–362 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Samsuri, M., Gozan, M., Hermansyah, H., Prasetya, B., Nasikin, M., Watanabe, T.: Ethanol production from bagasse with combination of cellulase-cellubiase in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using white rot fungi pre-treatment. J. Chem. Nat. Resour. Eng. 3, 20–32 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Dowe, N., McMillan, J.: SSF Experimental Protocols: Lignocellulosic Biomass Hydrolysis and Fermentation. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Anita, S.H.: Improvement of bioethanol production through development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Meyen ex E.C. Hansen] immobilization system on sugarcane bagasse. MS Thesis. Graduate School of Biology Departement. FMIPA-UI, Depok, Indonesia (2014)

  40. Tan, L., Yu, Y., Li, X., Zhao, J., Qu, Y., Choo, Y.M., Loh, S.K.: Pretreatment of empty fruit bunch from oil palm for fuel ethanol production and proposed biorefinery process. Bioresour. Technol. 135, 275–282 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Singh, R., Tiwari, S., Srivastava, M., Shukla, A.: Microwave–assisted alkali pretreatment of rice straw for enhancing enzymatic digestibility. J Energy 2014, 1–7 (2014)

  42. Sridar, V.: Microwave radiation as a catalyst for chemical reaction. Curr. Sci. 74(5), 446–450 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Aziz, S., Goyal, G.C.: Kinetics of delignification from mechanistic and process control point of view in solvent pulping processes. In: Pulping Conference Proceedings, Atlanta, GA, vol. 3, pp. 917–920 (1993)

  44. Hermiati, E.: Process engineering of cassava pulp hydrolysis using microwave heating for ethanol production. Doctoral Thesis. Graduate School, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia (2012)

  45. Chen, W.-H., Tu, Y.-J., Sheen, H.-K.: Disruption of sugarcane bagasse lignocellulosic structure by means of dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment with microwave-assisted heating. Appl. Energy 88(82), 2726–2734 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Isroi, M.M., Syamsiah, R., Cahyanto, M.N., Niklasson, C., Taherzadeh, M.J.: Structural changes of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) after fungal and phosphoric acid pretreatment. Molecules 17, 14995–15012 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Ouidiani, A.E., Chaabouni, Y., Msahli, S., Sakli, F.: Crystal transition from cellulose I to cellulose II in NaOH treated Agave americana L. fibre. Carbohydr. Polym. 86, 1221–1229 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Kim, S., Holtzapple, M.T.: Effect of structural features on enzyme digestibility of corn stover. Bioresour. Technol. 97, 583–591 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Bak, J.S., Ko, J.K., Han, Y.H., Lee, B.C., Choi, I.G., Kim, K.H.: Improved enzymatic hydrolysis yield of rice straw using electron beam irradiation pretreatment. Bioresour. Technol. 100(3), 1285–1290 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. O’Sullivan, A.: Cellulose: the structure slowly unravels. Cellulose 4, 173–207 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Sassi, J.-F., Tekely, P., Chanzy, H.: Relative susceptibility of the Iα and Iβ phases of cellulose towards acetylation. Cellulose 7, 119–132 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Wada, M., Okano, T.: Localization of Iα and Iβ phases in algal cellulose revealed by acid treatments. Cellulose 8, 183–188 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Zugenmaier, P.: Conformation and packing of various crystalline cellulose fibers. Prog. Polym. Sci. 26, 1341–1417 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Nishiyama, Y., Kuga, S., Okano, T.: Mechanism of mercerization revelead by x ray diffraction. J Wood Sci. 46, 452–457 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Gumuskaya, E., Usta, M.: Crystalline structure of bleached and unbleached wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L) soda-oxygen pulp. Turk. J. Agric. For. 26, 247–252 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  56. Fatriasari, W., Syafii, W., Wistara, N., Syamsu, K., Prasetya, B.: Lignin and cellulose changes of Betung Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) pretreated microwave heating. Int. J. Adv. Sci. Eng. Inf. Technol. 6(2), 187–196 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Martín, C., Puls, J., Schreiber, A., Saake, B.: Optimization of sulfuric acid-assisted glycerol pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse. Holzforschung 67(5), 523–530 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Ungurean, M., Fitigau, F., Paul, C., Ursoiu, A., Peter, F.: Ionic liquid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of wood biomass. World Acad. Sci. Eng. Technol. 76, 387–391 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from The Ministry of Research and Technology of The Republic of Indonesia through the Incentive Research for Researchers and Engineers Program (PKPP) 2012. We would like to thank to Faizatul Falah MT, Luna Ngeljaratan MS and Dr. Myrtha Karina for administrative report, technical assistance, valuable discussion and suggestion, respectively.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Biomaterials, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jl. Raya Bogor KM 46, Cibinong, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia

    Widya Fatriasari, Sita Heris Anita & Lucky Risanto

Authors
  1. Widya Fatriasari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sita Heris Anita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lucky Risanto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Widya Fatriasari.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fatriasari, W., Anita, S.H. & Risanto, L. Microwave Assisted Acid Pretreatment of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) to Enhance Its Fermentable Sugar Production. Waste Biomass Valor 8, 379–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9573-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9573-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation