Characterization of the hydrolysis of corn stover catalyzed by inorganic Fe salt for biogas production

Two inorganic salts, FeCl3 and Fe(NO3)(3), were chosen as catalysts to determine their effects on the hydrolysis of corn stover, and the results indicated that Fe(NO3)(3) was one of the most efficient catalyst for the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses. The kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction of corn stover catalyzed by Fe(NO3)(3) were investigated at different temperatures. The results showed that two-fraction model fitted very well the hydrolysis reaction of hemicelluloses catalyzed by Fe(NO3)(3), and the kinetic parameters for this model were obtained by nonlinear regression using the Newton's method. The activation energies for the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses in corn stover was 91.79 kJ/mol calculated by the classic Arrhenius equation. Optimum pretreatment conditions were 0.05 mol/L Fe(NO3)(3) at 150 degrees C for 16.5 min, which obtained the maximum xylose yields 91.3% of initial xylan.