Process optimization for the pretreatment of rice husk with deep eutectic solvent for efficient sugar production
A Anuradha1, Muthu Kumar Sampath1
1Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology, Jharkhand, India.
Environmental Technology
|July 3, 2023
Summary
This study optimized choline chloride: urea (ChCl/U) deep eutectic solvent pretreatment for rice husks. The process efficiently removed lignin and hemicellulose, yielding significant reducing sugars for potential large-scale applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomass Pretreatment
- Green Chemistry
- Biorefining
Background:
- Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are emerging as sustainable alternatives in biomass processing.
- Rice husks present a lignocellulosic resource with potential for value-added product generation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and optimize a choline chloride: urea (ChCl/U) deep eutectic solvent for rice husk pretreatment.
- To evaluate the efficiency of DES pretreatment in enhancing fermentable sugar yield.
Main Methods:
- Plackett-Burman response surface methodology was employed for optimizing DES molar ratio, residence time, temperature, and biomass concentration.
- Characterization of pretreated rice husk was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).
Main Results:
- Optimal pretreatment conditions involved 2 g rice husk with a 1:2 ChCl/U ratio at 80°C for 6 hours, yielding 0.67 ± 0.05 mg/mL of reducing sugar.
- DES pretreatment effectively removed amorphous lignin and hemicellulose content, as evidenced by SEM, FTIR, and XRD analyses.
- The study demonstrated a significant improvement in the structural and compositional properties of rice husk post-pretreatment.
Conclusions:
- The developed ChCl/U deep eutectic solvent pretreatment is highly effective for rice husk processing.
- This facile and scalable process holds promise for the large-scale production of fermentable sugars and other valuable compounds from biomass.
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