Dhaka 9th July, 2014. In their joint research project, scientists from Technical University at Bursa in Turkey and North Carolina State University, USA recently carried out a comparative study between autohydrolysis and acid-catalyzed autohydrolysis of wheat straw. The object of the present study was to determine and understand the impact of acid addition in overall sugar recovery from wheat for biofuel production.

Acetic, sulfuric, hydrochloric and sulfurous acids were utilized for acid-catalyzed  autohydrolysis. Acid-catalyzed autohydrolysis of wheat straw improved overall sugar recovery. Among the four acids, sulfurous acid showed the highest total sugar recovery at 81.2%. Autohydrolysis without acid only had 64.3% recovery.