Lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks contain significant amount of carbohydrates, including cellulose and hemicellulose. Depolymerization represents the conversion of these carbohydrates into their monomeric sugar constituents.  We investigate the role of  weak-acid surface sites on carbonaceous catalysts for this depolymerization, based on previous bioorganic molecular models of hydrolysis-enzyme active sites by Capon and based on our results of weak-acid sites on surfaces acting in concert to activate bound reactants.  We demonstrate that carbonaceous materials strongly adsorb long-chain glucans from acid hydrolyzate likely due to carbohydrate-aromatic interaction between glucan and carbon surface, and specifically show the adsorption and hydrolysis of extracted polysaccharides derived from Miscanthus biomass, using these concepts.

Adsorption and depolymerization of biomass-derived polysaccharides using weak-acid surfaces as catalysts

248th National Meeting (2014)

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