Comparison of Microwave and Ozonolysis Effect as Pretreatment on Sugarcane Bagasse Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Bioethanol production from agricultural residues is one of the promising methods. Pretreatment is the most important step in this type of bioethanol production. In this study, the saccharification percentage of sugarcane bagasse was investigated after two types of pretreatments including ozone steaming and microwave. Microwave pretreatment was studied with two factors of microwave radiation (170, 450, and 850 w) and microwave duration (2, 6, and 10 min). The ozonolysis (ozone steaming) pretreatment was surveyed with two factors of moisture content of bagasse (30, 40, and 50%) and ozonolysis time (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 hr). After hydrolysis, the Saccharification percentage of sugarcane bagasse increased to 57.2% and 67.06% with microwave and ozonolysis pretreatments, respectively; compare to 20.85% in non-ozonated bagasse. It can be concluded that the ozonolysis is the most effective pretreatment regarding to saccharification percentage of sugarcane bagasse.