Effect of methanol and sulfuric acid on hydrolysis of coconut dregs for glucose recovery

Coconut dregs are a waste produced from coconut milk production used as animal food and have the potential for glucose production. Objective of this study was to investigate the conversion of this cellulosic material into glucose through hydrolysis process with different type of hydrolysis solvents, such as sulfuric acid and methanol. Different concentrations of acid were 0.5% to 1.0%, concentrations of methanol were 10% to 50% and distilled water as a control. Higher glucose concentration produced from hydrolysis using these solvents were 0.38 g/l, 0.15 g/l and 0.04 g/l for 1% of sulfuric acid, 50% of methanol and distilled water, respectively. In addition, chemical structure changed in coconut dregs before and after hydrolysis of coconut dregs has been identified using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). It was found that hemicelluloses and lignin degraded during hydrolysis using both solvent. Meanwhile, the hydrolysis of substrate by distilled water remains unchanged in their chemical properties compared to the coconut dregs. Other than that, elemental analyzer was used to analyze total carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen in the substrate. Thus, the results presented in this study indicate that coconut dregs can be a promising source for advanced renewable glucose production.