Rapid determination of lignin content in lignocellulosic biomass through the use of ionic liquids

I&EC 40

Lindsey M. Kline, lmccull4@utk.edu1, Douglas G. Hayes, dhayes1@utk.edu1, Nicole Labbé, nlabbe@.utk.edu2, and Alvin R. Womac1. (1) Biosytems Engineering and Soil Science, University of Tennessee, 2506 E.J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4531, (2) Forest Products Center - Biomass Chemistry Laboratories, University of Tennessee, 2506 Jacob Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-4570
Bio-fuels produced from lignocellulosic feedstocks are gaining interest as an alternative to traditional petroleum based fuels. Initial compositional analyses of these feedstocks are essential for assessing their potential value. The currently employed protocol for determining the composition of lignocellulosics, i.e., the weight fraction of glucan, xylan, lignin, ash, and other components, is tedious. Ionic liquids (ILs), due to their ability to solubilize many of the components of biomass, are being explored in our laboratories as a vehicle to improve simplicity and safety for the chemical analysis. This presentation describes the successful determination of lignin in biomass solubilized in ILs via UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopies. The analysis focused upon three sources of lignin solubilized in 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, or [Bmim][Cl] at ~0.22 w/w. Acetonitrile has served as a dilution agent for the UV-Visible spectroscopic appproach.

 

IEC Poster Session
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Sci-Mix

Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007