The O-factor: using the H-factor concept to predict the outcome of organosolv pretreatment

• Published in: Biomass conversion and biorefinery 2023-06, Vol.13 (8), p.6727-6736
• Main Authors: Joseph, Prajin, Opedal, Mihaela Tanase, Moe, Størker T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation energy; Biomass; Biotechnology; Depolymerization; Energy; Factor activation; Furfural; H-factor; Kraft pulp; Linear fits; Linear relationships; O-factor; Organosolv pretreatment; Original Article; Polymers; Pre-hydrolysis; Pre-Treatment; Pretreatment; Pulping; Renewable and Green Energy; Softwood; Total solids; Xylan degradations
• ISSN: 2190-6815; 2190-6823; 2190-6823
• DOI: 10.1007/s13399-021-01667-8

The H-factor, a parameter used extensively to analyze and predict the outcome of kraft pulping, is applied to organosolv pretreatment. The total solid yield after organosolv pretreatment fits well with the H-factor. The concept has been extended to apply to the individual biomass polymers using unique values for the activation energy for the depolymerization of the individual biomass polymers, giving the O-factor concept analogous to the P factor used for analyzing prehydrolysis kinetics. The results showed a linear relationship between ln(L 0 /L) and O-factor at an activation energy of 96 kJ/mol. The best linear fit for mannan and xylan degradation was obtained at O-factor activation energies of 104 kJ/mol and 142 kJ/mol, respectively, and the formation of furfural and 5-HMF gave a good linear fit using an O-factor activation energy of 150 kJ/mol. The O-factor is thus a useful concept for analyzing organosolv pretreatment when the temperature during pretreatment is not constant.