Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Switchable ionic liquids for biomass pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1840440

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing a sugar composition. The method includes: forming a mixture including polysaccharide biomass and an ionic liquid solution, wherein the ionic liquid solution contains water and an ionic liquid, and wherein the ionic liquid contains a dicarboxylic acid anion and a cation. The pH of the mixture is greater than or equal to about 10, and the molar ratio of the dicarboxylic acid anion to the cation is at least about 1:2. The method further includes: maintaining the mixture under conditions sufficient to dissolve at least a portion of the polysaccharide present in the polysaccharide biomass; reducing the pH of the mixture containing the dissolved polysaccharide to at least about 7; adding at least one glycoside hydrolase to the mixture having the reduced pH.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
Assignee:
National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (Albuquerque, NM)
Patent Number(s):
11,118,204
Application Number:
15/523,355
OSTI ID:
1840440
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (9)

Amino Acid Ionic Liquids journal November 2007
Understanding pretreatment efficacy of four cholinium and imidazolium ionic liquids by chemistry and computation journal January 2014
Ionic liquids from renewable biomaterials: synthesis, characterization and application in the pretreatment of biomass journal January 2012
One-pot ionic liquid pretreatment and saccharification of switchgrass journal January 2013
Ionic liquids as starch plasticizers or solvents journal November 2011
Transition of cellulose crystalline structure in biodegradable mixtures of renewably-sourced levulinate alkyl ammonium ionic liquids, γ-valerolactone and water journal January 2014
MEP pathway-mediated isopentenol production in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli journal September 2014
Evaluation of Toxicity and Biodegradability of Cholinium Amino Acids Ionic Liquids journal March 2013
A review of separation technologies in current and future biorefineries journal August 2008