Application of a reaction model to improve calculation of the sugar recovery standard for sugar analysis

A kinetic model was applied to improve determination of the sugar recovery standard (SRS) for biomass analysis. Three sets of xylose (0.10-1.00 g/L and 0.999-19.995 g/L) and glucose (0.206-1.602 g/L) concentrations were measured by HPLC following reaction of each for 1 h. Then, parameters in a kinetic model were fit to the resulting sugar concentration data, and the model was applied to predict the initial sugar concentrations and the best SRS value (SRS(p)). The initial sugar concentrations predicted by the model agreed with the actual initial sugar concentrations. Although the SRS(e) calculated directly from experimental data oscillated considerably with sugar concentration, the SRS(p) trend was smooth. Statistical analysis of errors and application of the F-test confirmed that application of the model reduced experimental errors in SRS(e). Reference SRS(e) values are reported for the three series of concentrations.