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allied
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GREEN CHEMISTRY &
TECHNOLOGY
7
th
International Conference on
J u n e 1 8 - 2 0 , 2 0 1 8 | D u b l i n , I r e l a n d
Journal of Industrial and Environmental Chemistry
|
Volume 2
Page 22
Note:
E
fficient hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars
is a challenging step and the primary obstacle for the large scale
production of cellulosic ethanol. Ionic liquids are well known for their
ability to dissolve cellulose and our interest in the search for efficient
catalytic methods for saccharification of polysaccharides has led us
to develop-SO3H group functionalized Brönsted acidic ionic liquids
(BAILs) as solvents as well as catalysts. Later we found that these
sulfuric acid derivatives can be used as catalysts in aqueous phase
as well. For example, BAIL 1-(1-propylsulfonic)-3-methylimidazolium
chloride aqueous solution was shown to be a better catalyst than H
2
SO
4
of the same [H+] for the degradation of cellulose. This observation
is an important lead for the development of a BAIL based cellulase
mimic type catalyst for depolymerization of cellulose. In an attempt
to develop a recyclable, simple enzyme mimic type catalysts we have
studied quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) of a series
of BAIL catalysts and found that activity with different cation types
decreases in the order: imidazolium>pyridinium>triethanol ammonium.
Furthermore, we have investigated the effects of selected metal ions
on 1-(1-propylsulfonic)-3-methylimidazolium chloride BAIL catalyzed
hydrolysis of cellulose in water at 140-170°C. The total reducing sugar
(TRS) yields produced during the hydrolysis of cellulose (DP~450) in
aq. 1-(1-propylsulfonic)-3-methylimidazolium chloride solution at 140-
170°C using Cr
3+
, Mn
2+
, Fe
3+
, Co
2+
Ni
2+
, Cu
2+
, Zn
2+
, and La
3+
chlorides
as co-catalysts as well as interactions of catalysts with cellulose are
shown in the figure below. These results show that cellulose samples
heated with Mn
2+
, Fe
3+
, Co
2+
as co-catalysts produce significantly
higher TRS yields compared to the sample heated without the metal
ions. The highest catalytic effect enhancement is observed with Mn2+
and produced TRS yields of 59.1, 78.4, 91.8, and 91.9 % at 140, 150,
160, and 170°C respectively; whereas cellulose hydrolyzed without
Mn
2+
produced TRS yields of 9.8, 16.5, 28.0, and 28.7% at the same
four temperatures. This is a 503, 375, 228, and 220% enhancement in
TRS yield due to the addition of Mn
2+
as a co-catalyst to BAIL catalyzed
IONIC LIQUID BASED
ARTIFICIAL CELLULASE TYPE
CATALYSTS FOR CELLULOSIC
ETHANOL PROCESS
Ananda S Amarasekara
A&M University, USA
Ananda S Amarasekara, J Ind Environ Chem 2018, Volume 2 | DOI: 10.4066/2591-7331-C1-002
Biography
Ananda S Amarasekara is a professor of chem-
istry at A&M University in Texas, where he has
been a faculty member since 2003. He received
his PhD. in organic chemistry from City Universi-
ty of New York. The current research interest of
his group is to develop acidic ionic liquid based
chemocatalytic methods for the processing of
biomass to renewable fuels and feedstock chem-
icals. He is the author of the book “Handbook of
Cellulosic Ethanol” and has published more than
100 peer reviewed research articles.
asamarasekara@pvamu.edu