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Composition Retention Metrics Reveal Route-Specific Controls of Glucose Release from Pretreated Kenaf Core

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Lignocellulosic sugar production relies on pretreatments that improve enzymatic digestibility without excessive loss of recoverable solids and carbohydrates. This study benchmarks autohydrolysis, dilute-acid (H 2 SO 4 ), and alkaline (NaOH) pretreatments of kenaf core and introduces a retention-aware interpretation framework based on two complementary composition descriptors for cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin: a relative composition ratio ( R ) that captures enrichment/depletion in the recovered solid and an absolute retention index (AR) that incorporates solid recovery to quantify true feedstock-basis retention. Glucose release was evaluated using paired yield bases (recovered-solid and raw-feedstock) together with solid yield and cellulose conversion to decouple digestibility from composition-driven enrichment effects. Across routes, recovered-solid-basis glucose yield reached 38.8% (autohydrolysis) and 37.6% (dilute acid) at moderate solid yields, whereas alkaline pretreatment combined higher recovery (up to 72.4%) with moderate-to-high digestibility (13.6–37.6%). Raw-feedstock-basis glucose yield ranged from 1.20–23.30% (autohydrolysis), 1.30–19.70% (dilute acid), and 8.70–18.00% (alkaline), showing that mass loss can offset apparent gains in digestibility. Route-resolved LOESS trends and quadratic response surfaces identify hemicellulose depletion as the most consistent predictor of glucose release, while lignin enrichment is not transferable across chemistries; AR-based lignin retention becomes a graded separator primarily under alkaline conditions. The results support routine paired reporting of R/AR metrics with solid yield, yield basis, and cellulose conversion for defensible cross-route comparison.

Source: ACS Omega

DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.6c00476

Authors: Yitong Niu, Ying Ying Tye, Chee Keong Lee, Cheu Peng Leh

Institution: Universiti Sains Malaysia

Language: English

Topic: Biofuel production and bioconversion

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,935