Issue 4, 2024

Recent advances in hydrotropic solvent systems for lignocellulosic biomass utilization

Abstract

In deconstructing lignocellulosic biomass, processing solvents directly and indirectly influence the process efficiency by reducing recalcitrance, fractionating target components, preserving/modifying biomass components, etc. Hydrotropic solvents have shown effective biomass fractionation performance due to their unique amphiphilic structure. In particular, these hydrotropes effectively separate lignin from the cellulose-rich fraction with minimum modification and maximum recovery, which aligns well with the biorefinery strategy by enhancing the recovered lignin quality and quantity. Hydrotropic solvent functions as a catalyst in biomass fractionation/degradation and also as a solvent via aggregation and clustering for the dissolution of target components such as lignin. Moreover, this solvent approach has great potential in eco-friendly manufacturing in plant biomass utilization because of aqueous processing. In this review, chemical structure, amphiphilicity, roles and mechanism of hydrotropic solvents are discussed along with their recent applications in plant biomass utilization. Current challenges in their industrial applications and perspectives on the direction of future research directions are presented.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances in hydrotropic solvent systems for lignocellulosic biomass utilization

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
01 set 2023
Accepted
27 nov 2023
First published
29 nov 2023

Green Chem., 2024,26, 1806-1830

Recent advances in hydrotropic solvent systems for lignocellulosic biomass utilization

S. Jeong, J. Ryu, Q. Yang, J. Y. Zhu and C. G. Yoo, Green Chem., 2024, 26, 1806 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC03309K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements