Analytical methodology for biomass pretreatment — part 1: Solid residues

Populus deltoides was pretreated using a steam/aqueous thermomechanical process in which shear forces are applied by rapid passage of medium-consistency slurries through homogenizing valves. In this first paper, the characterization of the residual wood fractions by standard, thermal (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry) and spectroscopic (diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared) methods are presented. The results was discussed in terms of the effect of the severity of the treatment of the macrostructure of the different wood polymers. An evaluation of standard (ASTM) methods for quantification of these polymers is presented and correction procedures are proposed to validate the use of standard methods as applied to treated samples.