Design and Evaluation of a Plug Flow Reactor for Acid Hydrolysis of Cellulose

An isothermal plug flow reactor was developed to study the kinetics of hydrolysis of cellulosic substrates with H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. The kinetic parameters in a model which gives the glucose (I) formation from cellulose (II) were obtained at 180-240/sup 0/, and H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ and II slurry concentrations from 0.5 to 2.0% and 5.0 to 13.5%, respectively. Formation of I from newsprint pulp (65 mesh) was predicted from the kinetic model developed for II. Continuous acid hydrolysis of II might be a process of common interest, since at least 50% of potential I could be obtained at residence time (at 240/sup 0/) 0.22 min and acid concentration 1%.