Green acidic catalyst from cellulose extracted from sugarcane bagasse through pretreatment by electron beam irradiation and subsequent sulfonation for sugar production

The objective of this research is to prepare a green acidic catalyst from cellulose derived from sugarcane bagasse (SB). Initially, SB was pretreated by electron beam irradiation with a dose of 50 kGy to 200 kGy and subsequent acid hydrolysis to obtain cellulose. The cellulose derived from SB was carbonized at different temperatures for 4 h and then sulfonated with heating at 120°C under reflux. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to confirm the successful preparation of acidic catalyst by irradiation pretreatment and subsequent sulfonation. The cellulose derived from irradiated SB at the lowest dose of 50 kGy was used as a representative irradiated sample for comparison with non-irradiation. Scanning electron microscope image of sulfonated biochar was observed pores with various sizes. The existence of sulfur atom onto sulfonated biochar surface was investigated by Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. After sugar production by sulfonated biochar as an acidic catalyst, the total sugar content was measured by a phenol-sulfuric acid method using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The total sugar with 94.51 ± 1.35% content was found when the acidic catalyst was performed. It was remarkable to note that sulfonated biochar prepared from cellulose derived from SB after pretreatment and sulfonation exhibited outstanding result for being as an acidic catalyst for sugar production.