IONIC LIQUIDS IN A RENEWABLE FERMENT

Abstract

ROOM-TEMPERATURE IONIC LIQuids could enhance the recovery of butanol, an important chemical feedstock and potential biofuel, from fermentation broth, according to researchers at the University of Nebraska, LincoIn. Postdoctoral researcher Andrei G. Fadeev and associate professor of biochemical engineering Michael M. Meagher use the ionic liquid l-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate—[8-mim][PF 6 ]—to extract butanol from an aqueous solution of the alcohol. They then use a technique known as pervaporation to remove the butanol from the ionic liquid [ Chem. Commun. , 2001 ,295}. Butanol is one of the products of a bioprocess known as ABEfermentation—the microbial fermentation of carbohydrates to acetone, butanol, and ethanol. ABEfermentation is a potentially attractive process for converting biomass, a renewable resource, into fuels and chemical feedstock. For example, agricultural wastes—such as mycotoxin-contaminated corn that is unsuitable for use as animal feed—and agricultural by-products can ...