Investigations into the conversion of cellulose to simple sugars for ethanol production

CHED 239

Lisa A. Williams, lwillia6@ycp.edu1, Geoffrey M. Giampa, ggiampa@ycp.edu1, and Gregory P. Foy, gfoy@ycp.edu2. (1) Department of Chemistry, York College of Pennsylvania, Country Club Road, York, PA 17405-7199, (2) Physical Sciences Department, York College of Pennsylvania, Country Club Road, York, PA 17405
Ethanol, a popular biofuel, can be produced from any source that contains sugar. Traditional sources, such as sugar cane and corn, lack efficiency or proper climate for growing in the United States. Cellulose can be converted to glucose by enzymatic breakdown, but this is often inhibited by lignin. Corn stover and paulownia wood were treated with high pressure or oxygen delignification, followed by enzymatic breakdown of the cellulose into simple sugar. The final sugar product was then detected using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The increase in sugar yields, due to delignification or pressure treatment, was observed for each of the samples
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Analytical Chemistry
11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008