Alkaline thermochemical degradation

Krochta, J.M. Hudson, J.S. Tillin, S.J. "Kinetics of alkaline thermochemical degradation of polysaccharides to organic acids." In This Volume. 

Kinetics of Alkaline Thermochemical Degradation of Polysaccharides to Organic Acids... 

Figure 1. Effect of time on thermochemical degradation of starch in alkaline solution according to Equation 3.

Figure 4. Effect of time on organic acid production from thermochemical degradation of starch and cellulose in alkaline solution.

Starch and cellulose can both be thermochemically degraded in alkaline solution to water-soluble compounds of relatively low molecular weight. (A parallel study examines more completely the nature of these compounds (15).) Both starch and cellulose degradation processes can be described by second-order kinetics, with the hydroxide ion concentration determined by the stoichiometry of polysaccharide conversion to organic acids. The thermochemical degradation activation energy in alkaline solution for both starch and cellulose is 39,500 calories/mole. 

Increasing the yields of the desirable acids produced from the thermochemical, alkaline degradation of polysaccharides will require additional understanding of the reaction mechanisms and kinetics involved. Additional research should also proceed to determine the effect of other bases and supplementation of alkali catalysis by other catalytic materials. 

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