Abstract
Triticale straw constitutes a potential raw material for biofuel production found in Poland in considerable quantities. Thus far, production of bioethanol has been based on food raw materials such as cereal seeds, sugar beets or potatoes, and the biofuel production methods developed for these lignocellulose raw materials can threaten the environment and are inefficient. Therefore, this study aimed to compare of methods for pretreatment of triticale straw using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and the sulfate method in the aspect of ethanol production intended for fuel. Based on the conducted experiments it has been determined that the use of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate for the pretreatment of triticale straw resulted in an increase of reducing sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis and ethyl alcohol after alcoholic fermentation. Furthermore, the study compared the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of triticale straw without pretreatment, after processing with ionic liquid, recycled ionic liquid and using sulfate method, allowing a comparison of these methods. The more favorable method of lignocellulose material purification was the use of ionic liquid, due to the lower amount of toxic byproducts formed during the process, and the efficiency test results of bioethanol production using pretreatment with ionic liquid and sulfate method were similar. Ionic liquid recycling after pretreatment of rye straw using lyophilization allowed us to reuse this solvent to purify rye straw, yet the efficiency of this method remained at a low level. As a result of the conducted study it was determined that the use of ionic liquid-1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate enhanced the yield of bioethanol from triticale straw from 1.60 g/dm3 after processing without pre-treatment to 10.64 g/dm3 after pre-treatment.
Highlights
Lignocellulosic raw materials constitute the most promising group of raw materials for the production of bioethanol
As a result of the series of experiments utilizing triticale straw treated with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate a considerable increase in the susceptibility of the substrate to enzymatic hydrolysis was observed
The highest concentration of reducing sugars was obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis of triticale straw purified with ionic liquid
Summary
Lignocellulosic raw materials constitute the most promising group of raw materials for the production of bioethanol. The biotechnological processes primarily focus on cellulose, as the product of its hydrolysis is glucose, processed by the majority of microorganisms. The mean efficiency of ethanol production from cellulose is 0.42 m3 /ton of d.w. Contrary to the hydrolyzed starch, cellulose requires expensive preparation. Other cellulose raw material processing methods are known (extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis), yet far they have remained more expensive. One may hope that as a result of technical progress, less expensive methods of cellulose material saccharification will become available, allowing their transformation into ethanol to become profitable. Considering the high contribution of the raw material to the bioethanol production costs, genetic research, aiming at the increase of productivity of the plants being the potential energy substrate, is essential. Geneticists are constantly conducting research on the development of saccharide-rich, new cultivars of cereals and sugar beet, as well as on the enhancement of the properties related to plant immunity against insects and herbicides [1]
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