Bioethanol Production From Shorea Robusta Seeds By Using Chemical Pretreatment

The study explores the impact of acid treatment on bioethanol production by pre-treating S. robusta with varying concentrations of hydrochloric acid (HCI) and sulphuric acid. The solubilization of hemicellulose increases porosity and digestibility with maximum enzymatic hydrolysis. The maximum bioethanol production was observed to be 9.7±0.0% (v/v) with 1.5% concentration of HCI pretreated sample.Alkali-based pretreatment effectively delignifies lignocellulose by disrupting ester bonds between lignin and xylan, resulting in cellulose and hemicellulose fractions. This process increases surface area, allowing water molecules to penetrate inner layers. The study used S. robusta pretreated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium hydroxide (CaOH)2, and the maximum bioethanol production was 8.7±0.2% with 2% NaOH pretreated sample.