The Influence of Time on the Structure and Enzymatic Efficiency of Populus tomentosa Wood by Hot Compressed Water Treatment

The effects of pretreatment time on the microstructure of Populus tomentosa wood before and after enzymatic reaction and reducing sugar yield were studied with hot compressed water treatment by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that after the hot-compressed-water treatment of wood, the structure was loose, crystallinity, removal efficiency of lignin and degradation of hemicellulose, accessibility of cellulose was increased, and improved the efficiency of enzymolysis and reducing sugar yield. The effect is more significant as the pretreatment time prolongs. When pretreatment time was 50 min, the conversion rate of reducing sugar was 47%.