Effect of alkaline ultrasonic pretreatment on crystalline morphology and enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose

In this study, ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatment is developed to evaluate the morphological and structural changes that occur during pretreatment of cellulose, and its effect on glucose production via enzymatic hydrolysis. The pretreated samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction to understand the change in surface morphology, crystallinity and the fraction of cellulose Iβ and cellulose II. The combined pretreatment led to a great disruption of cellulose particles along with the formation of large pores and partial fibrillation. The effects of ultrasound irradiation time (2, 4 h), NaOH concentration (1–10 wt%), initial particle size (20–180 μm) and initial degree of polymerization (DP) of cellulose on structural changes and glucose yields were evaluated. The alkaline ultrasonic pretreatment resulted in a significant decrease in particle size of cellulose, besides significantly reducing the treatment time and NaOH concentration required to achieve a low crystallinity of cellulose. More than 2.5 times improvement in glucose yield was observed with 10 wt% NaOH and 4 h of sonication, compared to untreated samples. The glucose yields increased with increase in initial particle size of cellulose, while DP had no effect on glucose yields. The glucose yields exhibited an increasing tendency with increase in cellulose II fraction as a result of combined pretreatment.