| dc.description.abstract | In this work, mechanochemical pretreatment of Bambusa vulgaris is evalu-ated for waste-free production of renewable sugars for subsequent fermen-tation. After a 60 min mechanochemical pretreatment followed by enzyme hydrolysis at 50 °C, 62% of the available carbohydrate can be recovered as fermentable sugars, primarily in the form of glucose and xylose. Structural and chemical analysis finds that mechanochemical pretreatment increases accessible surface area and amorphizes the crystalline cellulose present in bamboo, both of which increase reactivity. The experimental results are then used for a systems-level analysis of ethanol production in Nigeria. The energy required for mechanochemical pretreatment is estimated to be 0.5–5.6 MJ per kg of bamboo; this energy can be provided by solar power, while still satis-fying existing needs for stationary power. Ethanol production on marginal land alone is projected to be sufficient to replace nearly 80% of Nigeria's current gasoline usage while reserving sufficient land area for solar power generation to meet current electricity needs, meaning that bamboo cultiva-tion followed by mechanochemical pretreatment can play an important role for utilizing locally available resources without generation of new chemical wastes.N. B. Ekwe, M. V. Tyufekchiev, G. A. Tompsett, H. O. LeClerc, E. R. Belden, M. T. TimkoDepartment of Chemical EngineeringWorcester Polytechnic Institute100 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609, USAE-mail: mttimko@wpi.eduN. B. Ekwe, A. A. Salifu, E. O. Onche, W. O. SoboyejoDepartment of Materials Science and EngineeringAfrican University of Science and Technology (AUST)Abuja, NigeriaN. B. EkweDepartment of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of AbujaAbuja, NigeriaThe ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202100286.A. A. Salifu, W. O. SoboyejoDepartment of Biomedical EngineeringWorcester Polytechnic Institute60 Prescott StreetGateway Park Life Sciences and Bioengineering CenterWorcester, MA 01609, USAA. A. Salifu, W. O. SoboyejoMechanical Engineering Department and Materials Science and Engineering ProgramWorcester Polytechnic Institute100 Institute RoadWorcester, MA 01609, USAA. AtesDepartment of Chemical EngineeringEngineering FacultySivas Cumhuriyet UniversitySivas 58140, TurkeyK. Schmidt-Rohr, S. Yuan, Z. ZhengDepartment of ChemistryBrandeis University415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02453, USAAdv. Sustainable Syst.2022, 6, 2100286 | tr |
