One-pot integrated ionic liquid process for the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass

There is a clear and unmet need for a robust biomass conversion technology that can process a wide-range of sustainable feedstocks and produce high yields of fermentable sugars and biofuels with minimal intervention between unit operations. Pretreatment technologies aiming to increase fermentable sugar yields from lignocellulosic biomass by altering or removing structural and compositional impediments to saccharification is highly essential. As one attractive method, the use of ionic liquids (ILs) in biomass pretreatment has received considerable attention recently because of their effectiveness at decreasing biomass recalcitrance to subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis.

However, the integration of IL pretreatment with enzymatic saccharification and microbial fermentation is challenging due to the toxicity of the ILs currently used for pretreatment, requiring extensive water washes or the development of engineered IL tolerant enzymes and microbes. Herein, we demonstrate a one-pot, integrated process for the production of ethanol directly from lignocellulose without removal of IL or any other separation or post-treatment operations prior to saccharification and fermentation through the screening, identification and use of a biocompatible IL.