Monday, May 2, 2011
Grand Ballroom C-D, 2nd fl (Sheraton Seattle)
Plant biomass consisting of three major biopolymers: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, provides huge potential for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals. Pretreatment of biomass is a prerequisite to produce hydrolyzed sugars, which can be fermented to produce fuels such as ethanol, butanol and bio-diesel. In this front, the University of Toledo and SuGanit Systems Inc have developed a novel ionic liquid pretreatment process that has gained wide recognition as a promising technology for disruption of lignocellulosic biomass structure. The ionic liquid (IL) treated biomass has shown efficient saccharification kinetics compared to other pretreatment technologies. During this process, lignin, the most abundant aromatic biopolymer with an energy content of 30-40%, is obtained as a by-product. Utilization of lignin for production of high value fuel additives and chemicals can substantially improve the overall economics and sustainability of the biorefineries.
In this project, lignin, isolated from IL pretreatment process, was first purified and characterized for various thermophysical properties using thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier Transform Spectrophometer and Neutron Magnetic Spectrophotometer. It was then pyrolyzed in a bubbling-bed reactor. The pyrolysis products such as bio-oils and gases were analyzed using gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography equipped with pulse discharge helium ionization detector system. Also, the effects of pyrolysis parameters such as temperature and catalyst on the pyrolysis products were investigated.