Evaluating the potential of a novel hardwood biomass using a superbase ionic liquid

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass, being ubiquitous and easily accessible, bears a huge potential for sustainable energy and other products. Fractionation, delignification, and subsequent utilization of hardwood biomass has been ever challenging for a bio-based refinery. Acacia nilotica (kikar in local language) is a hardwood tree commonly found in Pakistan, where its abundance owes to favorable and benign environmental conditions. Ionic liquids based on superbase “tetramethylguanidine (TMG)” are green solvents that are found to be good cellulose processing agents. Previously, TMG-based protic ionic liquids (PILs) have been used for cellulose processing and transformation into value-added products. In this study, an ionic liquid comprising a tetramethylguanidinium cation and a hydrogen sulfate anion was employed for the evaluation of the potential of acacia for fermentable sugars and lignin. Pretreatment was carried out at 100, 120, and 140 °C for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours. The results indicate that [TMG][HSO₄] is an efficient delignifying agent affording 81% lignin removal and 76% sugar yield by subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. The evaluation of the efficiency of IL and the biomass was verified by compositional analysis, FT-IR, HSQC, and SEM analyses.