Researchers from Bursa Technical University, Turkey and North Carolina State University recently  jointly conducted a comparative study between auto-hydrolysis and acid-catalyzed auto-hydrolysis of wheat  straw. The goal of the present study was to determine and understand the impact of  addition of acid on overall sugar recovery from wheat for biofuel production.

Acetic, sulfuric, hydrochloric and sulphuron acids were utilized for acid-auto-hydrolysis. Acid-catalyzed auto-hydrolysis 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.