Ebikade, Elvis Osamudiamhen2020-04-212020-04-212019http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/26114Starch saccharified glucose from food waste can be an important precursor for renewable chemicals and fuels. Despite numerous studies on hydrolysis of biomass, detailed kinetic studies and associated models of hydrolysis are lacking. We investigated the kinetics of glycosidic bond scission of malto-oligosaccharides in lithium bromide acidified molten salt hydrate (AMSH) medium and estimated rate parameters from experimental data. Our data supports the hypothesis that the terminal, non-reducing bonds hydrolyze faster than the interior and terminal-reducing C-O bonds. Next, we extended the model to simulate the hydrolysis of linear and cyclic saccharides of varying degree of polymerization and of potato starch. We characterize starch using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and light scattering methods. The model is in excellent agreement with the experimentally determined concentrations of glucose and other oligosaccharides. The chain length of saccharides is found to be directly related to their hydrolysis rate constant, but inversely proportional to the glucose formation rate constant.Thesis11514030082020-02-06en