Enzymatic hydrolysis and micro-structure of ozone treated wood meal

Pine (Pinus densiflora) and aspen (Populus euramericana) wood meals were treated with ozone at various time schedule in acidic condition. The lignin contents and surface area of the ozone treated wood meals were determined and the enzymatic hydrolysis rate of ozonated wood meals was evaluated. The feasibility of enzymatic hydrolysis of the ozone treated wood meal was obviously influenced with the degree of delignification. After ozone treatment of wood meal for 10min, total pore volume were slightly increased in the surface of wood meal. When wood meals were treated with ozone longer than 10min, few change in the pore volume was observed. However, the area of over 50Å of pore size is increased with ozonation time. As a conclusion, the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of wood is more effective with the pore size distribution than the total pore volume.