Dissolution of biomass using ionic liquids

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to be effective in dissolving cellulose and other biopolymers that are structurally quite different from each other. It would be quite interesting to figure out the common points of the dissolution of structurally different biopolymers in various kinds of ILs. In this chapter, the IL dissolution of pure biopolymers such as cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, chitin, silk, wool, etc., is reviewed. By analyzing the structures of the biopolymers and those of the ILs, it is concluded that the dissolution of most of these biopolymers (except lignin) in ILs is mainly due to the disruption of the intra-and intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the polymers by the ILs. Both the cations and anions of the ILs influence the dissolution process, although current work suggests the anions have a larger effect.