Impact of mixed feedstocks and feedstock densification on ionic liquid pretreatment efficiency

Background: Lignocellulosic biorefineries must be able to efficiently process the regional feedstocks that are available at cost-competitive prices year round. These feedstocks typically have low energy densities and vary significantly in composition. One potential solution to these issues is blending and/or densifying the feedstocks in order to create a uniform feedstock. Results & discussion: We have mixed four feedstocks – switchgrass, lodgepole pine, corn stover and eucalyptus – in flour and pellet form, and processed them using the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. Sugar yields from both the mixed flour and pelletized feedstocks reach 90% within 24 h of saccharification. Conclusion: Mixed feedstocks, in either flour or pellet form, are efficiently processed using this pretreatment process, and demonstrate that this approach has significant potential.

[1]  Yuan Liu,et al.  Effects of Cellulose Crystallinity, Hemicellulose, and Lignin on the Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Miscanthus sinensis to Monosaccharides , 2008, Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry.

[2]  Scott W. Pryor,et al.  Combined effect of pelleting and pretreatment on enzymatic hydrolysis of switchgrass. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[3]  W. Henderson,et al.  Pretreatment of corn stover by combining ionic liquid dissolution with alkali extraction , 2012, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[4]  A. C. O'sullivan.  Cellulose: the structure slowly unravels , 1997, Cellulose.

[5]  Giuseppe Mazza,et al.  Lignin extraction from straw by ionic liquids and enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulosic residues. , 2010, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[6]  J. Prausnitz,et al.  Solubility and rate of dissolution for Miscanthus in hydrophilic ionic liquids , 2011 .

[7]  Seema Singh,et al.  Visualization of biomass solubilization and cellulose regeneration during ionic liquid pretreatment of switchgrass , 2009, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[8]  Alistair King,et al.  Dissolution of wood in ionic liquids. , 2007, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[9]  F. Liebert,et al.  Growth, Nutrient Utilization and Threonine Requirement of Growing Chicken Fed Threonine Limiting Diets with Commercial Blends of Phytogenic Feed Additives , 2007 .

[10]  R. .. Morey,et al.  Densification Characteristics of Corn Stover and Switchgrass , 2009 .

[11]  B. Simmons,et al.  Comparison of dilute acid and ionic liquid pretreatment of switchgrass: Biomass recalcitrance, delignification and enzymatic saccharification. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[12]  B. Simmons,et al.  Understanding the impact of ionic liquid pretreatment on eucalyptus , 2010 .

[13]  Bruno Valentim,et al.  A study on coal blending for reducing NOx and N2O and levels during fluidized bed combustion , 2004 .

[14]  Xin Xu,et al.  Improving enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw using ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium diethyl phosphate pretreatment. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[15]  J. Jellison,et al.  Temporal changes in wood crystalline cellulose during degradation by brown rot fungi. , 2009 .

[16]  S. Saka,et al.  Liquefaction behavior of Western red cedar and Japanese beech in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride , 2010 .

[17]  Robin D. Rogers,et al.  Complete dissolution and partial delignification of wood in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate , 2009 .

[18]  Bryce J. Stokes,et al.  U.S. Billion-ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry , 2011 .

[19]  B. Simmons,et al.  A facile method for the recovery of ionic liquid and lignin from biomass pretreatment , 2011 .

[20]  Cheng-Kang Lee,et al.  Enhancement of enzymatic saccharification of cellulose by cellulose dissolution pretreatments , 2009 .

[21]  J. R. Hess,et al.  A review of biomass densification systems to develop uniform feedstock commodities for bioenergy application , 2011 .

[22]  J. R. Hess,et al.  Biomass supply logistics and infrastructure. , 2009, Methods in molecular biology.

[23]  Sang Hyun Lee,et al.  Ionic liquid‐mediated selective extraction of lignin from wood leading to enhanced enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis , 2009, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[24]  R. Braun,et al.  Acetic Acid Increases Stability of Silage under Aerobic Conditions , 2003, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[25]  J. Mikkola,et al.  Towards ionic liquid fractionation of lignocellulosics for fermentable sugars , 2010 .

[26]  Venkatesh Balan,et al.  Influence of physico-chemical changes on enzymatic digestibility of ionic liquid and AFEX pretreated corn stover. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[27]  R. Linhardt,et al.  Facile pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass at high loadings in room temperature ionic liquids , 2011, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[28]  B. Simmons,et al.  Comparing the Recalcitrance of Eucalyptus, Pine, and Switchgrass Using Ionic Liquid and Dilute Acid Pretreatments , 2012, BioEnergy Research.

[29]  Karen T. Love,et al.  The impact of ionic liquid pretreatment on the chemistry and enzymatic digestibility of Pinus radiata compression wood , 2012 .

[30]  S. Pugalendhi,et al.  Physiochemical Characterization of Briquettes Made from Different Feedstocks , 2012, Biotechnology research international.