Rhododendron and Japanese Knotweed: invasive species as innovative crops for second generation biofuels for the ionoSolv process.
- 2021
- RSC advances 11(30)
- PubMed: 35480936
- DOI: 10.1039/d1ra01943k
Study Design
- Population
- Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum)
- Methods
- Pretreatment technique using a low-cost protic ionic liquid, the ionoSolv process; [DMBA][HSO4] fractionated the biomass into a cellulose-rich pulp and a lignin stream at high temperatures (150-170 °C) and short reaction times (15-60 minutes)
We investigated the potential of two terrestrial biomass invasive species in the United-Kingdom as lignocellulosic biofuel feedstocks: Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum). We demonstrate that a pretreatment technique using a low-cost protic ionic liquid, the ionoSolv process, can be used for such types of plant species considered as waste, to allow their integration into a biorefinery. N,N,N-Dimethylbutylammonium hydrogen sulfate ([DMBA][HSO4]) was able to fractionate the biomass into a cellulose-rich pulp and a lignin stream at high temperatures (150-170 °C) and short reaction times (15-60 minutes). More than 70-80% of the subsequent cellulose was hydrolysed into fermentable sugars, which were fermented into the renewable energy vector bioethanol.
Research Insights
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