Application of Ionic Liquids in the Downstream Processing of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Authors

  • Sviatlana Siankevich Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Zhaofu Fei Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Ning Yan Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering National University of Singapore 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore. ning.yan@nus.edu.sg
  • Paul J. Dyson Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. paul.dyson@epfl.ch

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2015.592

Keywords:

Biomass, Ionic liquids, Renewable feedstocks, Sustainable chemistry

Abstract

Chemical transformations of lignocellulosic substrates to valuable platform chemicals are challenging as lignin and cellulose have high thermal and chemical stabilities. However, certain ionic liquids are able to dissolve and deconstruct biomass and, in the presence of catalysts, convert the dissolved/deconstructed species into useful platform chemicals. Herein, we provide a concise overview of the role of ionic liquids in biomass processing. Using 5-hydroxymethylfurfural as an example of a renewable building block, available from cellulose, we show how ionic liquids can facilitate its production.

Downloads

Published

2015-10-28