Spruce Pretreatment for Thermal Application: Water, Alkaline, and Diluted Acid Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis a process that involves a separation of the main components of lignocellulosic material (LCM) primarily developed for ethanol production was applied in this work to upgrade biomass for thermal application. The purpose of the pretreatment was to remove hemicellulose and alkali metals and consequently increase the energy content of the biomass and improve the fuel properties. Freshly chopped (2-10 mm) spruce (Picea abies) samples were hydrolyzed (liquid/solid ratio of 800 mL/80 g), using water, diluted acid, and sodium hydroxide in a rotating autoclave at 180 +/- 2 degrees C for 150 and 350 min. Several analyses, such as proximate and ultimate analyses, ash composition and fusibility characteristics, and thermogravimetric analysis under pure nitrogen, were performed. Despite the reduction of mass and energy yields with increment of the severity factor, a significant increment of the higher heating value and ash quality was achieved, revealing that hydrolysis using water or diluted acid is a promising method to upgrade biomass as fuel. For alkaline treatment, a huge degradation on the quality of the ash was observed.