Acidic Deep Eutectic Solvent Pretreatment of Sunflower Stalks to Improve Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Lignin Recovery
摘要
Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have excellent lignin solubility and are promising solvents for a better enzymatic hydrolysis ratio. Choline chloride and formic acid (ChCl/FA), prepared in 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 molar ratios, have been developed as green solvents for the pretreatment of sunflower stalks to improve enzymatic digestibility and recover lignin. To maximize the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis, the pretreatment conditions were analyzed at different temperatures (90, 110 and 130 °C) and times (4, 6 and 8 h). The effect of DES pretreatment on the properties of lignocellulosic biomass was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and then subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis. DES pretreatment removed 87.6% of lignin and improved the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis of sunflower stalks by about twofold compared to the crude biomass at a ratio of 1:2 ChCl/FA, a temperature of 110 °C and a time of 6 h. Lignin was regenerated from the pretreatment liquid and characterized by FTIR. The DES system represents an alternative approach for the development of an efficient pretreatment of sunflower stalks and offers a broad field for biorefinery concepts. The recycling process allowed the acidic DES to be reused five times, although enzymatic efficiency decreased from 89.6% to 58.8% in the fifth cycle.