Ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has recently received extensive attention as a potential alternative to established pretreatment techniques for biofuels production. In this study, an environmentally friendly pretreatment process was developed to fractionate hemicelluloses and lignin from poplar wood by IL pretreatment coupled with mild alkaline extraction. The reliable reasons for enhancing the enzymatic hydrolysis were investigated by chemical composition, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The glucose yield from the integrated pretreated poplar wood was 99.2%, while it was just 19.2% for the untreated material. The synergistic benefits of the removal of lignin and hemicelluloses, the increase of the cellulose surface area, and the conversion of cellulose fibers from the cellulose ? to the cellulose ? crystal phase resulted in the high glucose yield for the integrated pretreated substrate. In addition, hemicellulosic and lignin fractions were obtained in high yields, amounting to 59.3 and 74.4%, respectively, which can served as raw materials for value-added products production.

Synergistic benefits of ionic liquid and alkaline pretreatments on enzymatic hydrolysis of poplar wood

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.