New generation biofuel and feedstock pre-treatment challenge: a novel strategy to assess biomass processing using mixtures of ionic liquids and ultrasound, a simultaneous and multivariate approach

• Grant number: 17/24520-4
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants
• Duration: February 01, 2019 - July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Marcus Bruno Soares Forte
• Grantee: Marcus Bruno Soares Forte
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Gustavo Mockaitis

Abstract

Climate changes, due to the historical depletion of natural resources, have led us to rethink technology driving. The replacement of fossil fuels by renewable alternatives has been studied in order to mitigate the environmental impact of energy production. However, the use of lignocellulosic waste, such as sugar cane bagasse and straw for biofuels synthesis, demands pre-treatment, due to its complexity. The recent use of ionic liquids (IL) in this process emerges as a strategy to overcome the problems faced, such as high energy demand and inhibitory compounds production. In this context, this project proposes the use of several ILs in sugarcane biomass (straw) pretreatment, providing better biomass utilization in a novel proposal, economically and environmentally viable. In a pioneering study, the influence of temperature, pH, ultrasound, agitation, water, biomass content and mixture proportion of different ILs in biomass deconstruction will be evaluated simultaneously using experimental design. Efficiencies and yields will be observed in the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The reuse of the pre-treatment liquor will be evaluated in two possibilities: evaluation of the biomethanogenic potential (anaerobic digestion) and production of ligninase enzymes in biotransformations by actinomycetes. The pretreated biomass will be evaluated for two applications: the production of 2G ethanol and the production of high value-added products (oligosaccharides) through enzymes obtained by fermentation of fungi. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FERRARI, FELIPE AUGUSTO; BRANDAO PEREIRA, JORGE FERNANDO; WITKAMP, GEERT-JAN; SOARES FORTE, MARCUS BRUNO. Which Variables Matter for Process Design and Scale-Up? A Study of Sugar Cane Straw Pretreatment Using Low-Cost and Easily Synthesizable Ionic Liquids. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING, v. 7, n. 15, p. 12779-12788, AUG 5 2019. (14/16424-7, 15/50612-8, 17/24520-4)

FERRARI, F. A.; NOGUEIRA, G. P.; FRANCO, T. T.; DIAS, M. O. S.; CAVALIERO, C. K. N.; WITKAMP, G. J.; VAN DER WIELEN, L. A. M.; FORTE, M. B. S.. The role of ionic liquid pretreatment and recycling design in the sustainability of a biorefinery: a sugarcane to ethanol example. GREEN CHEMISTRY, v. 23, n. 22, OCT 2021. (17/24520-4, 19/19976-4, 18/20173-0, 15/50612-8, 19/10439-6)