title: Activation of lignocellulosic biomass by ionic liquid for biorefinery fractionation.
abstract: Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive solution to develop an economically viable biorefinery by providing a saccharide fraction to produce fuels and a lignin stream that can be converted into high value products such as carbon fibers. In this study, the analysis of ionic liquid-activated biomass demonstrates that in addition of decreasing crystallinity, the selected ILs (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) deacetylate Yellow poplar under mild conditions (dissolution at 60-80 °C), and lower the degradation temperature of each biomass polymeric component, thereby reducing the recalcitrance of biomass. Among the three tested ILs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate performed the best, providing a strong linear relationship between the level of deacetylation and the rate of enzymatic saccharification for Yellow poplar.
authors.affiliation: Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. nlabbe@utk.edu
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: Lindsey M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moens
authors.forename: Keonhee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Pyoung Chung
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Douglas G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D013227:Steam; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D013227:Steam; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin