Algae As A Biodiesel Feedstock

The carbohydrate that is the principal constituent of wood and other biomass and forms the structural framework of the wood cells. It is a polymer of glucose with a repeating unit of C6H10O5 strung together by ß-glycosidic linkages. The ß-linkages in cellulose form linear chains that are highly stable and resistant to chemical attack because of the high degree of hydrogen bonding that can occur between chains of cellulose (see below). Hydrogen bonding between cellulose chains makes the polymers more rigid, inhibiting the flexing of the molecules that must occur in the hydrolytic breaking of the glycosidic linkages. Hydrolysis can reduce cellulose to a cellobiose repeating unit, C12H22O11, and ultimately to glucose, C6H12O6. Heating values for cellulose may be slightly different based upon the feedstock.

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