Enhanced bioethanol production from yellow poplar by deacetylation and oxalic acid pretreatment without detoxification.

In order to produce ethanol from yellow poplar, deacetylation was performed using sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Optimal deacetylation conditions were determined by a response surface methodology. The highest acetic acid concentration obtained was 7.06 g/L when deacetylation was performed at 60 °C for 80 min with 0.8% NaOH. Acetic acid was recovered by electrodialysis from the deacetylated hydrolysate. The oxalic acid pretreatment of deacetylated biomass was carried out and the hydrolysate directly used for ethanol production without detoxification. Ethanol yields ranged from 0.34 to 0.47 g/g and the highest ethanol yield was obtained when pretreatment was carried out at 150 °C with 50 mM oxalic acid. The highest ethanol concentration obtained from pretreated biomass was 27.21 g/L at 170 °C, using a 50 mM of oxalic acid for the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). Overall, 20.31 g of ethanol was obtained by hydrolysate and SSF from 100 g of deacetylated yellow poplar.