Generation of biofuels from sugars in lignocellulosic biomass is a promising alternative to liquid fossil fuels, but efficient and inexpensive bioprocessing configurations must be developed to make this technology commercially viable. One of the major barriers to commercialization is the recalcitrance of plant cell wall polysaccharides to enzymatic hydrolysis. Biomass pretreatment with ionic li...

The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose by cellulases is one of the major steps involved in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to yield biofuel. This hydrolysis by cellulases, a heterogeneous reaction, currently suffers from some major limitations, most importantly a dramatic rate slowdown at high degrees of conversion. To render the process economically viable, increases in hyd...

The aim of this study is to investigate ionic liquids (ILs) pretreatment on kempas composition, structure and enzymatic digestibility. Ground kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) was pretreated with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim][OAc]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethansulfonate ([Bmim][OTf]), at 120°C for 6 and 12 h. The cel...

Plant materials represent a strategic energy source because they can give rise to sustainable biofuels through the fermentation of their carbohydrates. A clear example of a plant-derived biofuel resource is the sugar cane bagasse exhibiting 60-80% of fermentable sugars in its composition. However, the current methods of plant bioconversion employ severe and harmful chemical/physical pretreatmen...