 Good morning, welcome to the Converting Cellulosic Biomass to Sugars video tutorial. This video will outline materials required and procedure to be followed when conducting a conversion of cellulosic biomass to simple sugars. First, let's start with some background. Cellulosic biomass refers to the tough, fibrous, woody parts of plants such as grass, flowers, corn stalks, wood, or paper products. Although cellulosic biomass cannot be used for food, it contains a large amount of energy that can be used as fuel. It is mostly made up of a molecule called cellulose, which is the primary component of plant cell walls. Cellulose is the most abundant molecule on earth and represents a huge potential pool for renewable energy if converted into transportation fuel. Companies are spending large investments in research to discover methods to efficiently convert cellulosic biomass into ethanol. In this lab we will investigate the process for converting cellulosic biomass into simple sugars. The sugars can then be used for fermentation in a later lab, but could also be converted into food, feed, or chemicals. First, choose two to three biomass samples and decide on a cutting or grinding treatment and a time you will grind each sample of biomass for. Write down an initial claim based on your current knowledge and available evidence. What do you expect to happen in this experiment? With each of the chosen samples, after the grinding or cutting treatment, weigh out one gram of biomass, placing each into a separate 50 ml falcon tube along with one blank sample. Label each falcon tube with team initials, date, and sample description. Next, start the hot plate to bring 200 ml of water to a gentle boil in a 400 ml glass beaker. Cover the beaker with aluminum foil if you feel the beaker might boil over. While the water heats up to a boil, add 20 ml of sulfuric acid solution to all of the labeled 50 ml falcon tubes including the blank. Swirl the falcon tubes to mix the biomass and acid. Let's sit for one minute. Test the pH of each solution. Record this data. Test the initial soluble carbohydrate concentration using the refractometer. Record the bricks number along with the liquid volumes and mass. When the water and the beaker on the hot plate comes to a gentle boil, push all falcon tubes into the beaker. Make sure that the biomass samples and the liquid are completely submerged below the surface of the boiling water in the beaker. You may need to use aluminum foil to do this. Leave the tubes in the water for at least 10 minutes. Then turn off the hot plate. Let the samples cool to room temperature. Test the soluble carbohydrate concentration using the refractometer once more. Record this data along with liquid volume based on mass. Make sure the common water bath or incubator is at 50 degrees Celsius. Neutralize the samples to a pH of 4.5 to 7 by adding around 5 ml of sodium hydroxide. Add a little at a time so the pH does not exceed 7. Keep track of the volume added by weighing the samples before and after, then record the new liquid volume. Record the final pH after it is neutralized, then add 1 ml of cellulose enzyme. Record the new liquid volume. Screw caps on tightly, then mix samples by shaking. Place falcon tubes in the water bath at 50 degrees Celsius. Leave the tubes in the water bath for 48 hours. Test the soluble carbohydrate concentration using a refractometer one last time and record. Refrigerate samples to prevent microbial contamination. You can use them in the subsequent fermentation lab. Thank you for watching this instructional tutorial on converting cellulose biomass to sugar.