(315f) Determining the Dilute Acid Hydrolysis of Natural and Hybrid Poplar Species Grown in Turkey

The wood and annual plants that contain lignocellulosic raw material are formed by the natural polymers which contain the monomers that has mainly glucose, other hexose and pentose. It is known that ethyl alcohol is produced by hydrolysis of glucose as biomass from cellulosic material. In this respect bioethanol is the mostly considered source; however its cost still very high. In order to compete with other fossil fuels, the most economical production process should be developed for this biofuel. Another important point is the selection of proper raw material. It is thought that under the conditions of our country, wood, being a lignosellosic biomass, is more economical raw material than the other starch or sucrose based biomass. Chemical composition and morphologic structure of wood depends on biological variables of different species and growth conditions which effects hydrolysis rate and conversion to glucose . For high efficiency, biomass should be rich in cellulose. On the other hand for high hydrolysis rate, lignin ratio should be low and fiber structure should be suitable. The wood of broad-leaved tree has a lower lignin ratio compared to wood of coniferous tree. In this study, poplar tree, which is a broad-leaved tree growing in every region of Turkey and as fast grown species in the energy forests, has been chosen as lignocellulose biomass. At the first stage, samples of mostly widespread three species of poplar tree will be collected via field work. On these samples chemical composition and morphologic properties will be determined. At the second stage, wood chips will be hydrolysed under high temperature and pressure with dilute acid. For each species, the most suitable hydrolysis conditions will be determined. Afterwards hydrolysed samples will be measured viscosity,contained acid-ýnsoluble lignin in wood. Finally, the most suitable poplar species for bioethanol production will be selected. Hydrolysis experiments will be performed at a batch/continuous reactor will be used. Planning of experiments, analysis of results and determination of optimum conditions will be done by statistical methods. In this research, facilities of Istanbul University Faculty of Forestry and Gebze Institute of Technology will be utilized primarily. It is planned that in the research team there will be experts in the field of chemical engineering and forestry industries engineering.