High Efficient Hydrolysis of Cellulose into Sugar by Chemical Catalytic Method

Using chemical method to efficiently hydrolyze cellulose into sugar is a key support technology for converting renewable non-food biomass into energy and materials, which has great significance to maintain the sustainable development of resources and the environment in the future. In recent years, with the development of the research on the hydrolysis of cellulose, the research content has been shifted from exploring the feasibility of hydrolysis into building a technology of highly efficient (i.e., high conversion rate, high selectivity and high conversion speed) hydrolysis of cellulose into sugar. The principle and method of highly efficient hydrolysis of cellulose into sugar are systematically reviewed. On basis of the relationship between the crystalline structure of cellulose and the high efficiency of hydrolysis, the advantages and disadvantages of various technical methods are discussed in detail. Combining with the latest progress of hydrolysis research, some ideas and suggestions are also provided with the aim to successfully achieve highly efficient hydrolysis of cellulose into sugar in the future.