Efficient biomass pretreatment using ionic liquids: a review

Lignocelluloses are the main or occasionally the only components in different waste streams from several sources like industries, towns, agriculture and forestry. Many physico-chemical, structural and compositional causes delay the hydrolysis of components present in the biomass to sugars and other organic compounds which can later be converted into fuels. During the past few years, many chemical pretreatments such as lime, acid, steam explosion, sulfur dioxide explosion, AFEX, and ionic liquids have been developed for efficient hydrolysis of biomass. Recently, using ionic liquid as a solvent for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has paid abundant attention. Contrary to traditional high temperature molten salts, ionic liquids are category of solvents that defined as salts with melting temperatures below 100 °C. The great potential of ionic liquids has led to a number of reviews on their physico-chemical properties, design of new groups of ionic liquids, chemical engineering, and the wide range of arrangements in which ionic liquids have been utilized. The present study reviews the latest developments in pretreatment of lignocellulosic wastes using ionic liquids

Efficient biomass pretreatment using ionic liquids: a review Keywords:

Bioethanol , Dissolution , Hydrolysis , Ionic Liquids , Lignocellulose , Pretreatment