Corncobs were subjected to nonisothermal reaction in aqueous conditions to reach temperatures in the range202-216
![](/images/entities/deg.gif)
C. The liquors were assayed for composition to assess the conversion of xylan into oligosaccharidesand reaction byproducts, whereas the spent solids from treatments were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis.Enzymatic assays were carried out according to an incomplete, factorial, centered design of experiments, inwhich the following independent variables were considered: liquor to solid ratio (in the range 6-16 g/g),enzyme to substrate ratio (in the range 6-28 filter paper units/g), and
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-glucosidase activity/cellulase activityratio (in the range 1-9 IU/FPU). The concentration/time data were fitted to an equation selected from theliterature, and the model parameters were expressed as a function of the operational variables considered inthe experimental design. Under selected conditions, high oligosaccharide yields and near quantitative celluloseconversion into glucose were obtained.