Abstract
Water hyacinth (WH) is a troublesome aquatic weed of natural and artificial water bodies of India and other tropical countries and causing severe ecological problems. The WH biomass is low in lignin content and contains high amount of cellulose and hemicellulose, making it suitable material for conversion into liquid fuels for energy production. This study highlighted that, how different imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) [1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, [Cnmim]Br (n = 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10)] with tunable properties can be employed for the degradation of WH biomass. Different characterizations techniques, such as XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and DSC are used to unravel the interplay between ILs and the biomass. In this study, it is observed that [Emim][Br] pretreated samples have maximum crystalline value (Crl = 26.38%) as compared to other ionic liquids pretreatments. FTIR data showed the removal of lignin from WH biomass by 12.77% for [Emim][Br] and 10.74% for [Edmim][Br]. SEM images have proven that [Emim][Br] pretreatment have altered the structure of biomass the most. Our results proved that IL pretreatment is a promising approach for effective treatment of WH biomass and causes high levels disruption of cellulose structure.
Highlights
The limited supply of fossil based fuels in recent time has become a serious concern globally
Water hyacinth (WH) biomass samples were stored in a air tight glass container in a freezer at −4◦C to maintain the aseptic condition until subsequent experiments
The peak observed at 897 cm−1 was less intense in case of [Emim][Br] and [Edmim][Br] pretreated WH biomass compared to the other ionic liquids (ILs) ([Bmim][Br], [Hmim][Br], and[Omim][Br]) and untreated WH biomass samples
Summary
The limited supply of fossil based fuels in recent time has become a serious concern globally. ILs display excellent characteristics in chemical processes with ability to dissolve polar and non-polar organic, inorganic, and polymeric compounds (Lee and Lee, 2005). ILs exhibit excellent physical characteristics including the ability to dissolve polar and non-polar organic, inorganic and polymeric compounds (Lee and Lee, 2005). They can dissolve the biomass due to the strong hydrogen bonding basicity of certain ions, such as Ac, Cl, Br, and NO3. A special care has been taken to understand how the structures and intricate properties of ILs influence the biomass degradation
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