Effects Of Naoh-Thiourea Treatment On Enzymatic Saccharification Of Corn (Zea Mays Subsp. Mays) Stover

In this paper, NaOH-thiourea aqueous solution was used to treat refiner mechanical pulp (RMP) prepared from corn (Zea mays subsp. mays (L.) Iltis) stover at temperatures in the range of 100 to 140 degrees C for the modification of the enzyme saccharification, and the effect was evaluated by single factor tests. As a result the NaOH concentration of 7% (ratio of NaOH to thiourea: 6 to 5), the treating temperature of 120 degrees C, and the keeping time of 60 min (the pulp consistency of 20%) were chosen as the optimal conditions for the enzymatic saccharification. The contents of ethanol-benzene extractives, ash, lignin and holocellulose of the treated RMP were 2.2%, 3.5%, 14.2% and 79.2%, respectively. The total yield of glucose, xylose and arabinose after the enzymatic saccharification was 41.9%, which was increased by approximately 21% compared with that of the RMP treated in NaOH aqueous solution without thiourea.