Study on enzymatic degradation of cornstalk in ionic liquid

Abstract

The influence of reaction conditions on the enzymatic degradation of cornstalk in the system of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM]OAc) was investigated. The optimum condition was as follows: 5 g 4 wt% cornstalk in ionic liquid solution, 3.64 mL pH 5 citric acid-sodium citrate buffer solution, the concentration of cornstalk 55 mg/mL, the ratio of enzyme and cornstalk 0.5 mL/g, reaction temperature 55 °C and reaction time 30 h. Under the optimum condition, the rate of enzymatic degradation was 96.6 %, and was 2.1 times quicker than under the conventional condition. The changes of the molecular structure of cornstalk dissolved in [EMIM]OAc were detected by FT-IR and SEM. It was also found that ionic liquid [EMIM]OAc had good reusability. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013.