Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.96, No.3, 639-650, 2018
Fermentable sugars production by enzymatic processing of agave leaf juice
The Mexican mezcal industry annually processes approximately 2.92x10(5)t of mezcal agave, generating roughly 1.46x10(5) t of agave leaves per year, which represents a potential carbon source of at least 8170 t via enzymatic processing of agave leaf juice. This carbon source is considered an attractive alternative to produce biofuels and/or chemical products since it is produced and used without adversely affecting the environment. The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, and bioreaction time on the enzymatic hydrolysis of agave leaf juice enriched in fructan to maximize the fermentable sugars production from three varieties of mezcal agave, using a low-cost commercial brand of hydrolase. This process generated a sugar-enriched juice of 80.07-136.12g/L of reducing sugars. A Box-Behnken experimental design and a mathematical surface response analysis of the hydrolysis were used for process optimization.
Keywords:agave leaf juice;fructan;enzymatic hydrolysis;experimental design;reducing sugar production