@article{ansanay_kolar_sharma-shivappa_cheng_arellano_2021, title={Pretreatment of Switchgrass for Production of Glucose via Sulfonic Acid-Impregnated Activated Carbon}, volume={9}, ISSN={["2227-9717"]}, DOI={10.3390/pr9030504}, abstractNote={In the present research, activated carbon-supported sulfonic acid catalysts were synthesized and tested as pretreatment agents for the conversion of switchgrass into glucose. The catalysts were synthesized by reacting sulfuric acid, methanesulfonic acid, and p-toluenesulfonic acid with activated carbon. The characterization of catalysts suggested an increase in surface acidities, while surface area and pore volumes decreased because of sulfonation. Batch experiments were performed in 125 mL serum bottles to investigate the effects of temperature (30, 60, and 90 °C), reaction time (90 and 120 min) on the yields of glucose. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated switchgrass using Ctec2 yielded up to 57.13% glucose. Durability tests indicated that sulfonic solid-impregnated carbon catalysts were able to maintain activity even after three cycles. From the results obtained, the solid acid catalysts appear to serve as effective pretreatment agents and can potentially reduce the use of conventional liquid acids and bases in biomass-into-biofuel production.}, number={3}, journal={PROCESSES}, author={Ansanay, Yane and Kolar, Praveen and Sharma-Shivappa, Ratna and Cheng, Jay and Arellano, Consuelo}, year={2021}, month={Mar} }
 @article{ansanay_kolar_sharma-shivappa_cheng_park_arellano_2017, title={Pre-treatment of biomasses using magnetised sulfonic acid catalysts}, volume={48}, number={2}, journal={Journal of Agricultural Engineering}, author={Ansanay, Y. and Kolar, P. and Sharma-Shivappa, R. and Cheng, J. and Park, S. and Arellano, C.}, year={2017}, pages={117–122} }
 @article{ansanay_kolar_sharma-shivappa_cheng_2014, title={Niobium oxide catalyst for delignification of switchgrass for fermentable sugar production}, volume={52}, ISSN={["1872-633X"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.11.044}, abstractNote={In this research, niobium oxide, a solid acid catalyst was evaluated as a pretreatment agent for delignification of Alamo switchgrass. The objectives were to determine the effects of temperature, catalyst loading, and pretreatment time on delignification and enzymatic hydrolysis of switchgrass and evaluate reusability of the catalyst. Batch experiments were performed using a Box–Behnken statistical model to study the effects of temperature, pretreatment time, and catalyst loading followed by hydrolysis using Cellic®Ctec2 (Novozymes). Niobium oxide was able to reduce total lignin concentrations up to 44.6 ± 0.97%. Hydrolysis experiments performed for 72 and 168 h (7% enzyme loading) indicated that a maximum glucose yield of 0.169 g g−1 (59.94% conversion)–0.196 g g−1 (77.51% conversion) was obtained. Catalyst reusability studies suggested that niobium oxide was able to pretreat four separate batches of switchgrass without losing activity. Niobium oxide is expected to serve as a reusable pretreatment catalyst and make ethanol production inexpensive and environmentally friendly.}, journal={INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS}, author={Ansanay, Yane and Kolar, Praveen and Sharma-Shivappa, Ratna R. and Cheng, Jay J.}, year={2014}, month={Jan}, pages={790–795} }