Prehydrolysis of xylan in culm of Sasa kurilensis with dilute sulphuric acid

To prepare a substrate for microbial conversion of xylose into xylitol, the culm of Sasa kurilensis was hydrolysed with dilute sulphuric acid. A fermentable substrate with a relatively high xylose concentration (21.9 g L−1) was obtained by hydrolysis with 2% sulphuric acid with a liquid to solid ratio of 10 : 1 at 121°C for 1 h. During hydrolysis at elevated temperatures, some undesirable byproducts were also generated, such as degradation products of solubilized sugars and lignin, which are potential inhibitors of microbial metabolism. These compounds were successfully removed from the hydrolysate by treatment with a commercially available activated charcoal (30 g L−1 dose).