Effect of washing and feedstock size of oil palm empty fruit bunches in acid hydrolysis studies

Water washing of raw samples was carried out to determine its effect on the acid hydrolysis process used for producing sugars from EFB. The results showed that sugar yield obtained from washed EFB is more reflective of the actual conversion rate compared to unwashed EFB. Sugar yields were 24.6 % for washed samples and 13 % for unwashed samples. Also deviations in the various measurements made were significantly higher for unwashed EFB. However this could be reduced by washing. A contour plot of parameters was done to determine the optimal conditions for the acid hydrolysis process. It was found that the highest sugar yield obtainable is when the EFB particle size is 0.250 mm and the hydrolysis time is 4 hours.