Industrial hemp, a variety of Cannabis sativa and the same plant species as marijuana, is primarily grown for its high-quality fibers from bast and high-value Cannabidiol (CBD) oil from flowers and leaves. The inner core of the hemp plant stem, hemp hurd, is considered as cellulosic waste. The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has estimated the hemp products sold in the US in 2015 to be &gt; $573M, which is ~10.4% growth from 2014 and is projected to rise. With the expansion of the industrial hemp product markets, a large amount of hemp hurds will become available. Hence, the use of industrial hemp hurd for production of high-value products (i.e., fuels, chemicals, and polymers) will bring benefits including: (1) revenues to farmers; (2) reduction of CO2 emission from disposal of hemp hurds by landfilling and combustion; and new technologies for these emerging markets. Herein, we have developed and optimized the one-pot saccharification of hemp hurds using the imidazolium-based ionic liquid. Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were used to design and optimize three processing parameters: reaction temperature (120-160°C), reaction time (1-4h), and solid loading (5-30 wt.%). We found that sugar release is sensitive to a change in temperature. Under the optimal condition, ~80% of glucose and 60% of xylose selectivities were achieved. To understand the underlying physicochemical characteristics of hemp hurds that affect their hydrolysis, hemp hurds before and after ionic liquid process were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), 2D Heteronuclear Single-Quantum Correlation (HSQC) NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Industrial hemp for fuels and chemicals: From weed to wonder

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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