Ethanol Production from Sugarcane Bagasse Using Phosphoric Acid-Catalyzed Steam Explosion

The steam explosion was carried out in the absence (autohydrolysis) and presence of phosphoric acid to evaluate the effects of temperature (180 and 210 °C), acid concentration (0 and 19 mg g-1, dry basis) and pretreatment time (5 and 10 min) on the structure and reactivity of sugarcane bagasse. Glucan recovery was used as the main response factor for pretreatment optimization through a central composite design. Autohydrolysis at 210 °C for 10 min had a good pretreatment performance but phosphoric acid catalysis (19 mg g-1) resulted in better yields under considerably milder conditions (180 �...