Effect of phosphoric acid pretreatment on enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was pretreated with phosphoric acid at 323 K for 10 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) analyses revealed that the fiber surface morphology of pretreated MCC (P-MCC) were uneven and rough with the crystalline diffraction peaks of P-MCC decreased to a distinct range. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the uneven and rough surface of P-MCC could enhance the adsorption of cellulose to the molecular surface of cellulose, which is one of the key factors affecting enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. A reversible first order kinetics was employed to describe the adsorption kinetics of cellulase to MCC and P-MCC, and the adsorption rate constants of MCC and P-MCC were found to be 0.016, 0.024, 0.041, and 0.095, 0.149, 0.218 min− 1, respectively at 278 K, 293 K and 308 K. The activation energies of MCC and P-MCC hydrolysis reactions were found to be 22.257 and 19.721 kJ mol− 1. The major hydrolysis products of MCC and P-MCC were cellobiose and glucose. Hydrolysis of MCC for 120 h resulted in yields of glucose (7.21%), cellobiose (13.16%) and total sugars (20.37%). However, after the pretreatment with phosphoric acid, the corresponding sugar yields resulted from enzymatic hydrolysis of P-MCC were increased to 24.10%, 41.42%, and 65.52%; respectively, which were 3.34, 3.15, and 3.22 times of the sugars yields from enzymatic hydrolysis of MCC.