Cellulose enrichment and enhanced saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass using the ionoSolv approach

Abstract

Biomass in the form of agricultural and forest waste is among the most anticipated materials for sustainable processes and economical bio-based products. Cellulose is widely utilized, but it is not always in huge relative amounts; therefore, biomass is first enriched by removing unwanted constituents through pretreatment. The most efficient among the primary generations of ILs used for biomass valorization were based on aromatic cations. Despite their efficacies and extended tunability, these ILs are costly and their greenness is questionable. Aliphatic ILs are cheaper and environmentally more benign, thus, more desirable for biomass processing. In this study, a protic IL based on an aliphatic amine N,N-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA) and sulfuric acid has been employed for the cellulose enrichment of sugar cane bagasse and corn stover. The results showed high post-treatment cellulose content in corn stover (49%) and bagasse (39%). It exhibited fairly high lignin removal, i.e., 83% and 75% and glucose yields 82% and 91% from bagasse and corn stover, respectively. The extent of delignification, cellulosic content, and glucose yields are evident of the high efficiency of the IL.