Facile pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass at high loadings in room temperature ionic liquids
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Authors
Wu, Hong
Mora-Pale, Mauricio
Miao, Jianjun
Doherty, Thomas V.
Linhardt, Robert J.
Dordick, Jonathan S.
Issue Date
2011-12-01
Type
Article
Language
ENG
Keywords
Biology , Chemistry and chemical biology , Chemical and biological engineering , Biomedical engineering
Alternative Title
Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as attractive solvents for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment in the production of biofuels and chemical feedstocks. However, the high cost of ILs is a key deterrent to their practical application. Here, we show that acetate based ILs are effective in dramatically reducing the recalcitrance of corn stover toward enzymatic polysaccharide hydrolysis even at loadings of biomass as high as 50% by weight. Under these conditions, the IL serves more as a pretreatment additive rather than a true solvent. Pretreatment of corn stover with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidizolium acetate ([Emim] [OAc]) at 125 ± 5°C for 1 h resulted in a dramatic reduction of cellulose crystallinity (up to 52%) and extraction of lignin (up to 44%). Enzymatic hydrolysis of the IL-treated biomass was performed with a common commercial cellulase/xylanase from Trichoderma reesei and a commercial β-glucosidase, and resulted in fermentable sugar yields of ∼80% for glucose and ∼50% for xylose at corn stover loadings up to 33% (w/w) and 55% and 34% for glucose and xylose, respectively, at 50% (w/w) biomass loading. Similar results were observed for the IL-facilitated pretreatment of switchgrass, poplar, and the highly recalcitrant hardwood, maple. At 4.8% (w/w) corn stover, [Emim][OAc] can be readily reused up to 10 times without removal of extracted components, such as lignin, with no effect on subsequent fermentable sugar yields. A significant reduction in the amount of IL combined with facile recycling has the potential to enable ILs to be used in large-scale biomass pretreatment.
Description
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 108, 2865-2875
Note : if this item contains full text it may be a preprint, author manuscript, or a Gold OA copy that permits redistribution with a license such as CC BY. The final version is available through the publisher’s platform.
Note : if this item contains full text it may be a preprint, author manuscript, or a Gold OA copy that permits redistribution with a license such as CC BY. The final version is available through the publisher’s platform.
Full Citation
Facile pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass at high loadings in room temperature ionic liquids, H. Wu, J. Miao, M. Mora-Pale, T. V. Doherty, R. J. Linhardt, J. S. Dordick, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 108, 2865-2875, 2011.
Publisher
Terms of Use
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
10970290
63592
63592