Effect of ozonolysis pretreatment on enzymatic digestibility of sugarcane bagasse.

Bagasse was pretreated with ozone to increase the enzymatic hydrolysis extent of potentially fermentable sugars. Through a 3x4 factorial design, this research studies the influence of operating parameters (moisture content and retention time) on ozonization pretreatment of bagasse in a fixed bed reactor under room conditions. Enzymatic hydrolysis yields of up to 67% were obtained compared to 20% in non-ozonized bagasse. Moisture content and retention time showed significant effect on ozonolysis. And the most efficient conversion was obtained in 50% w/w humidity and 3.5 h retention time. The study also revealed that smaller particle size in the raw bagasse improved the performance of ozonolysis as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]