title: Microwave-assisted dissolution and delignification of wood in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate.
abstract: Microwave irradiation can facilitate the dissolution and delignification of lignocelluloses in ionic liquids compared to simple oil bath heating as demonstrated here where 92.5% of 0.5 g ground southern yellow pine was dissolved in 10 g 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate using microwave irradiation in only 4 min. Cellulose-rich material (pulp) regenerated from the wood/ionic liquid solution had a lignin content of ~10%; significantly lower than the lignin content of the original wood (31.9%) or that of pulp obtained from the same experiment but using 16 h of oil bath heating (16-24%). The 10% lignin content obtained with the microwave method was close to that of pulp obtained from the oil bath heating method when polyoxometalate catalysts were used (5-9%).
authors.affiliation: Center for Green Manufacturing and Department of Chemistry, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mirela L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Maxim
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gurau
authors.forename: Robin D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002384:Catalysis; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008872:Microwaves; D009821:Oils / Q000737:chemistry; D010209:Paper; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013997:Time Factors; D017973:Tungsten Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*; D000099294:Polyoxometalates
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D007093:Imidazoles; D008031:Lignin; D009821:Oils; D017973:Tungsten Compounds; C102296:polyoxometalate I; D000099294:Polyoxometalates; C518739:1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium