Effect of microwave-assisted ionic liquid/acidic ionic liquid pretreatment on the morphology, structure, and enhanced delignification of rice straw

Abstract In the present study, was investigated an environmentally friendly method for pretreating lignocellulosic rice straw (RS) by using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) as an ionic liquid (IL) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([Bmim]HSO4) as an acidic-IL (Acidic-IL) under microwave irradiation (microwave-[Bmim]Cl and microwave-[Bmim]HSO4). The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into simple sugars requires both efficient pretreatment and hydrolysis enzymes to produce biofuels and specialty chemicals. Therefore, the applied [Bmim]Cl, [Bmim]HSO4, microwave-[Bmim]Cl, and microwave-[Bmim]HSO4 to improve hydrolysis yields. Structural analyses of the pretreated solids were performed to understand the synergistic effects of [Bmim]Cl, and [Bmim]HSO4 pretreatment under microwave irradiation (microwave-[Bmim]Cl and microwave-[Bmim]HSO4) on the efficiencies of enzymatic hydrolyses. The results of a chemical composition analysis of untreated and all pretreated RS samples by using the difference pretreatment methods showed that significant lignin removal was achieved using microwave-[Bmim]Cl (57.02 ± 1.24%), followed by [Bmim]Cl only (41.01 ± 2.67%), microwave-[Bmim]HSO4 (20.77 ± 1.79%), and [Bmim]HSO4-only (16.88 ± 1.14%). The highest glucan yield and xylan conversion achieved through the enzymatic saccharification of microwave-[Bmim]Cl-regenerated cellulose was consistent with the observations obtained from a structural analysis, which indicated a more disrupted, amorphous structure, with lowered crystallinity index (CrI) and lateral order index (LOI) of cellulose polymers. Thus results demonstrated that the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with [Bmim]Cl under microwave irradiation has potential as an alternative method for pretreating lignocellulosic materials.