LAUSR

Abstract A screening method is developed to identify the optimal acid pretreatment conditions in the production of cellulosic sugars from woods. The method is developed on gram scale and allows evaluation of more than 30 conditions within a week. Estimation of the residual glucan content after pretreatment is used to identify the optimal pretreatment conditions, being the maximal sugar release combined with minimal sugar-degradation product levels after enzymatic hydrolysis. The method is applied to spruce, poplar, and two mixed hard and soft woods; and showed differences in optimal conditions for sugar release and degradation product formation. For poplar, similar pretreatment conditions lead to maximal release of either glucose or xylose and mannose, while for the other woods, the optimal conditions for maximal release of glucose differs from the conditions for maximal release of xylose and mannose. Based on these technical results, poplar was selected as preferred wood for lignocellulosic sugar production.