Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass, as a step in the production of biofuels and biochemicals, has recently acquired a lot of research interest. Cellulose, as the world's most common biopolymer has been identified as a key raw material, but its hydrolysis is challenging due to its recalcitrance necessitating pre-treatments of the biomass feedstock. Ionic liquids (ILs) have the ability to dissolve cellulose and their use in biomass pre-treatment has been proposed. ILs have, however, been found to be inactivating for hydrolase enzymes. To explore the potential of ILs in biomass pre-treatment, the inactivating effects of ILs on enzymes need to be understood and systems where enzymes retain their activity in the presence of ILs need to be designed. In our studies, we have explored several phenomena related to IL induced enzyme inactivation and developed analytical methods for saccharide analysis in the presence of higher concentration of ILs.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in ionic liquid solutions

245th National Meeting (2013)

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