Hydration of Saccharides: Estimation of Reaction Properties and Equilibrium Conversion

Biomass holds great promise as a renewable source of hydrogen and thus as a zero‐emission, carbon‐neutral, and nearly inexhaustible energy resource. Thermodynamic analysis of biomass hydration is carried out to study the reaction properties considering a series of saccharides as a model. Equilibrium constants and composition are estimated in dependence on the saccharide chain length and temperature. The latter is also studied as a function of the reactant ratios and in the presence of nonreacting additives. Being highly endothermic, the reaction is thermodynamically favorable due to a high entropic contribution. Increase in the saccharide chain length affects the conversion only slightly, so the results for low‐molecular‐weight saccharides can be transferred to long‐chain ones.