Optimization of acid pretreatment in order to increase the phenolic content of Picea abies bark by surface response methodology

The purpose of this work was to determine the main factors influencing the phenolic content of bark during acid hydrolysis. The optimization of polysaccharides hydrolysis was done by response surface methodology. The hydrolysis was performed under atmospheric pressure in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. An experimental design was applied to analyze the effects of the reaction time (5 to 24 hours), acid concentration (3 to 20%), and solid/liquid ratio (1/10 to 1/5) on the weight loss, lignin content, holocellulose content, and sugar yield for the hydrolysis. The pretreated bark had a high lignin content of 60% resulting from hemicelluloses hydrolysis and phenolic compound condensation.