ACID HYDROLYSIS PROCESS OF CELLULOSIC AND LIGNOCELLULOSIC MATERIALS, DIGESTION VESSEL AND HYDROLYSIS REACTOR

摘要

The present invention relates to an enhanced process for sugar productionthrough the acid hydrolysis of cellulosic and lignocellulosic materialscharacterized by the treatment of these materials in three steps. In the firststep, it is made a digestion of the lignocellulosic material using a solventcapable of partially dissolving the lignin, which constitutes part of thelignocellulosic material. In the second step, the cellulosic materialresulting from the treatment with the solvent is subjected to an acidtreatment in such conditions that mainly hemicellulose is hydrolyzed to form asugar solution rich with pentose monomers and oligomers. In the third step,the cellulosic material from the second step is subjected to an acid treatmentin such conditions that the major part of the cellulose is hydrolyzed to forma sugar solution rich with hexose monomers and oligomers. This invention alsorelates to a Digestion Vessel and a Reactor, with this set being constitutedby a single vessel or a set of vessels where it's possible to identify threeareas where the three process steps are conducted.