Aqueous Phase Oxidative Treatment of Saw Dust

Regarding the utilization of lignocellulosic solid waste biomass, partial wet oxidation provides an alternative treatment to produce sugars or carboxylic acids. This paper investigates the impact oxygen, temperature and alkali metal catalyst (sodium carbonate) on the partial wet oxidation of wood particles in a single reactor. The experimental data includes the yields of carboxylic acids and sugars, pH, total organic carbon and average oxidation stage of carbon after the reaction. These data give insight to the reaction mechanism. The results show that increase in temperature (till 230 °C) increases the solid dissolution percent and yields of sugars and acids. On the other hand, the catalyst cause alkaline effect which slows down the hydrolysis step. The presence of oxygen increases the acid yields by accelerating hydrolysis and introducing more intermediates to the system compared to the absence of oxygen. From the process viewpoint, single reactor is more effective than two-stage process including cooking as a pre-treatment.