Abstract: Under microwave heating, the degradation conditions (catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and time) were optimized, and the optimal conditions were φcatalyst= 5%, reaction temperature 100 ℃ and reaction time 2 h, with a yield of reducing sugars concentration 2.15 g/L. Under the optimized conditions, a comparative study was performed to evaluate the effects of micowave heating and conventional heating on the yield of reducing sugars, and the results show that the yield of reducing sugars obtained by the degr adation via microwave heating is increased by a factor of 33.5%, and the degradation rate is increased by a factor of 487%. The morphologies of degradation product via microwave heating and conventional heating were tested with SEM and the results show that decrease in degree of polymerisation is caused by microwave irradiation. The degradation products obtained by microwave heating and co nventional heating respectively were similar with FTIR spectra.

Key words: plant cellulose, microwave heating, degradation, optimization condition