Abstract: An investigation was carried out to study the factors affecting the extraction of xylose from corncob by acid hydrolysis under the assistance of microwave radiation at a laboratory scale. Using one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design methods, the optimal conditions for xylose extraction were determined to be 16 min hydrolysis at a H2SO4 solution (2%)/corncob ratio of 10:1 (V/m) when the microwave power was set at 540 W. Under these conditions, the yields of xylose and reducing sugar were 16.95% and 37.62%, respectively. Over the traditional steaming method, the optimized method showed the advantages of shorter extraction time and lower energy consumption.

Key words: corncob, xylose, microwave, ion exchange, acid hydrolysis