Cassava pulp contains significant amount of starch which can be hydrolyzed to glucose, and further converted to
different kinds of chemicals, such as lactic acid, fumaric acid, and ethanol. Microwave irradiation is an alternative
method for starch hydrolysis, and the addition of activated carbon has been reported could increase glucose yield at
lower temperature in water medium. This research was to study the effects of two types of activated carbon on the
acid hydrolysis of cassava pulp under microwave irradiation. The experiment was conducted at two microwave
power level (30% and 50%), each with heating duration of 5, 7.5 and 10 min in 0.5% sulfuric acid medium. The
addition of activated carbon with superior adsorption capacity in cassava pulp suspension resulted in lower glucose
yield than the one without the addition of activated carbon at both power levels. On the other hand, the addition of
activated carbon with inferior adsorption capacity resulted in much higher glucose yield than the one without the
addition of activated carbon at microwave power 30% and slightly lower glucose yield at microwave power 50%.
However, activated carbon with higher adsorption capacity was superior to the other one in suppressing the formation
of colored secondary degradation materials. The highest glucose yield (91.52%) was obtained in the hydrolysates
from the treatment at microwave power 50% for 10 min without the addition of activated carbon