Breakthrough discovery could revolutionize biofuel production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The study looked at how cellulose and hemicellulose interact when heated up quickly. They tested different temperatures (500, 600, 700 °C), mixtures (1:1 and 5:2 ratios), and ways of mixing the samples. They found that when cellulose and hemicellulose come together during heating, more hemicellulose-related products and CO2 are made, but it limits some cellulose products, like levoglucosan. Mixing methods had the biggest impact on how these components interacted, followed by temperature. Native mixtures of cellulose and hemicellulose had the most significant effect on the products formed. Interestingly, the interaction between cellulose and hemicellulose was found to be weaker than that between cellulose and lignin.