Ionic liquids from biomass waste could pretreat plants destined for biofuels
Friday, July 1, 2016 - 08:21
in Physics & Chemistry
Ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to be an excellent pretreatment solvent for biomass; the ILs prepare the plant matter to be broken down into its component sugars, which can be used in creating biofuels. However, the availability and high cost of petroleum-derived ILs pose challenges. Synthesizing new ILs directly from biomass "wastes" – the lignin monomers and hemicellulose – is being studied as a new approach.