Issue 13, 2017

An economically viable ionic liquid for the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass

Abstract

Cost-effective fractionation (pretreatment) of lignocellulosic biomass is necessary to enable its large-scale use as a source of liquid fuels, bio-based materials and bio-derived chemicals. While a number of ionic liquids (ILs) have proven capable of highly effective pretreatment, their high cost presents a barrier to commercial viability. In this study, we investigate in detail the application of the low-cost (ca. $1 kg−1) ionic liquid triethylammonium hydrogen sulfate for the fractionation of the grass Miscanthus x giganteus into a cellulose rich pulp, a lignin and a distillate. We found that up to 85% of the lignin and up to 100% of the hemicellulose were solubilized into the IL solution. The hemicellulose dissolved mainly in monomeric form, and pentoses were partially converted into furfural. Up to 77% of the glucose contained in the biomass could be released by enzymatic saccharification of the pulp. The IL was successfully recovered and reused four times. A 99% IL recovery was achieved each time. Effective lignin removal and high saccharification yields were maintained during recycling, representing the first demonstration that repeated IL use is feasible due to the self-cleaning properties of the non-distillable solvent. We further demonstrate that furfural and acetic acid can be separated quantitatively from the non-volatile IL by simple distillation, providing an easily recoverable, valuable co-product stream, while IL degradation products were not detected. We further include detailed mass balances for glucose, hemicellulose and lignin, and a preliminary techno-economic estimate for the fractionation process. This is the first demonstration of an efficient and repeated lignocellulose fractionation with a truly low-cost IL, and opens a path to an economically viable IL-based pretreatment process.

Graphical abstract: An economically viable ionic liquid for the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Mar 2017
Accepted
26 Apr 2017
First published
26 Apr 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Green Chem., 2017,19, 3078-3102

An economically viable ionic liquid for the fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass

A. Brandt-Talbot, F. J. V. Gschwend, P. S. Fennell, T. M. Lammens, B. Tan, J. Weale and J. P. Hallett, Green Chem., 2017, 19, 3078 DOI: 10.1039/C7GC00705A

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