Method of preparing oat straw for biofuel production

As a leading agro-industrial country, Ukraine generates significant amounts of by-products every year, including oat straw, which, given its lignocellulosic composition, is a valuable resource for meeting bioenergy needs. The aim of this work was to investigate the effectiveness of treating oat straw with a mixture of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide for effective delignification and obtaining a substrate with a high content of polysaccharide component for potential use in the production of second-generation biofuel. Mathematical modelling and regression equation analysis were applied based on experiments with varying hydrogen peroxide concentrations (10-30 vol. %) and treatment durations (60-120 min) to determine the optimal compromise between lignin removal and cellulose preservation. It was found that hydrogen peroxide consumption and treatment duration have a predominantly negative effect on substrate yield, while a positive effect is observed for lignin removal. It was shown that the optimal conditions are a hydrogen peroxide content of 30 vol. % in the mixture with a treatment duration of 60 min, which ensures the maximum value of the desirability function and the production of a substrate with a yield of 52.8%, a lignin content of 2.1% and a cellulose content of 66.8%. Experimental verification of these conditions confirmed the reliability of the obtained model: a substrate with a yield of 52.1%, lignin content of 2.3% and cellulose content of 65.9% was obtained. Thus, the work demonstrates the effectiveness of a sound approach to the processing of agro-industrial waste, opening up prospects for the production of second-generation biofuels. The results obtained have scientific and practical significance, as they confirm the effectiveness of optimised delignification of oat straw and create a scientifically sound basis for the development of resource-efficient technologies for the production of second-generation biofuels