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An effective two‐step ionic liquids method for cornstalk pretreatment
Author(s) -
Xu Junli,
Yao Xiaoqian,
Xin Jiayu,
Lu Xingmei,
Zhang Suojiang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4517
Subject(s) - ionic liquid , cellulose , chemistry , lignin , acetone , solvent , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , yield (engineering) , organic chemistry , chromatography , materials science , catalysis , composite material , engineering
BACKGROUND Ionic liquids have shown excellent performance in biomass delignification. However, there is still a strong demand to improve delignification by developing new biomass pretreatment methods to take full advantage of ionic liquids. RESULTS A two‐step ionic liquids method for cornstalk pretreatment was developed by combining choline hydroxide (ChOH) and 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium dimethyl phosphate ([Emim][DMP]) ionic liquids. First, the cornstalk sample was soaked in ChOH aqueous solution for 3 h, the residue was then dissolved completely by [Emim][DMP] in 10 min. The cellulose rich material (CRM) was regenerated from the [Emim][DMP] solution by adding anti‐solvent (acetone/water (v:v = 1:1)). The results showed that 77.28% lignin was removed and cellulose content was increased to 52.14% in the CRM. Simultaneously, the crystalline structure of cellulose was altered and amorphous cellulose was obtained in the two‐step method. The amorphous cellulose was converted into 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and a high HMF yield of 87.21% was achieved. CONCLUSIONS The two‐step method enhanced the cornstalk pretreatment through improving delignification and the disruption of cellulose crystalline structure under mild conditions, which made the two‐step method more competitive compared with other conventional pretreatment methods. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry