Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) as designer solvents have been applied in biomass pretreatment to increase cellulose accessibility and therefore improve the enzymatic hydrolysis. We investigated the characterization of the micromorphology and the topochemistry of poplar wood during 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate pretreatment with mild conditions (90 °C for 20 and 40 min) by multiple microscopic techniques (FE-SEM, CLSM, and CRM). Chemical composition analysis, XRD, cellulase adsorption isotherm, and enzymatic hydrolysis were also performed to monitor the variation of substrate properties. Our results indicated that the biomass conversion was greatly enhanced (from 20.57% to 73.64%) due to the cell wall deconstruction and lignin dissolution (29.83% lignin was removed after incubation for 40 min), rather than the decrystallization or crystallinity transformation of substrates. The mild ILs pretreatment, with less energy input, can not only enhance enzymatic hydrolysis, but also provide a potential approach as the first step in improving the sequential pretreatment effectiveness in integrated methods. This study provides new insights on understanding the ILs pretreatment with low temperature and short duration, which is critical for developing individual and/or combined pretreatment technologies with reduced energy consumption.
Highlights
IntroductionLiquid biofuels like bioethanol can be produced via the fermentation of sugars produced from the cellulose and hemicelluloses within the lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood and agricultural or forest residues
Biofuels are considered to be the main potential replacement for fossil fuels in the near future.Liquid biofuels like bioethanol can be produced via the fermentation of sugars produced from the cellulose and hemicelluloses within the lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood and agricultural or forest residues
The objective of this study is to reveal the mechanism of mild [Emim]Ac pretreatment for improving the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass with less energy input by combing the information about the microstructure and the topochemistry of pretreated poplar wood
Summary
Liquid biofuels like bioethanol can be produced via the fermentation of sugars produced from the cellulose and hemicelluloses within the lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood and agricultural or forest residues. These abundant, readily available, and low-cost lignocellulosic materials can capture huge amounts of solar energy and play a crucial role in the development of second-generation bioethanol. An additional deconstruction step called pretreatment is required to bring the biomass feedstock into a form suitable for hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation [2]. The alkaline pretreatment can increase accessible surface area and achieve high hydrolysis rates, but this method requires long residence times and high temperatures
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