Electron interactions with lignocellulosic biomass components: solvent effects

• Grant number: 09/17745-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2010
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Atomic and Molecular Physics
• Principal Investigator: Marco Aurelio Pinheiro Lima
• Grantee: Eliane Marques de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/58034-0 - Processing of sugarcane cellulose employing atmospheric pressure plasmas, AP.BIOEN.TEM

Abstract

The possibility of plasma-based pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has been recently proposed, consisting an interesting technology alternative way to improve biomass ignocellulosicethanol production (sugarcane bagasse and leaves). Since the physical-chemistry basis of the pretreatment is dissociative electronattachment (formation of metastable dissociative anions), this project intends to study electron interactions with lignocellulosic components,focusing on the influence of surrounding water molecules on the biomass. Employing scattering and electronic structure computationaltechniques, we propose to investigate the influence of hydrogen bonds, as well as micro- and macro-solvation effects on the electronicresonances of polysaccharides monomers and oligomers (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin). (AU)