Comparison of lignin yield from sugarcane bagasse pellets using liquid hot water and ionic liquid pretreatment methods

In this research work, lignin yield from sugarcane bagasse pellets (SBP) was investigated after treatment of sugar cane bagasse with liquid hot water (LHW) and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by ionic liquids (ILs) and only ionic liquids pretreatment methods. In the LHW and ionic liquid methods, the SBP were first treated with LHW at 200 °C, for 30 minutes in a suitable reactor, for removal of hemicellulose. The complex cellulignin residue was treated separately with either of two ionic liquids namely: 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim][OAc]) or 1-butyl-3- methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate ([Bmim][HSO4]), using microwave digestion at varying time intervals. Theionicliquidmethodinvolvedthepretreatmentofsugarcanebagasse pelletswith either 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate followed by microwave digestion at varying time intervals. Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy at a wavelength of 280 nm was used as a tool for quantification of lignin. The different functional groups of the extracted lignin were confirmed using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) provided information on thermal characteristics of the extracted lignin. In addition to material characterization, mixed factorial ANOVA was performed to compare the extracted lignin yield using the LHW and IL and the ionic liquid pretreatment methods. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the C5 sugars in the hydrolysate after LHW pretreatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to identify cellulose peaks of cellulignin and SBP and ILs treated samples. The results indicated that the lignin yield from sugarcane bagasse pellets after liquid hot water treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis was 37.8 % (m/v). The highest percentage yield of lignin extracted from the complex cellulignin (LHW and IL) was found to be 68.00 % (m/v) and 32.04 % (m/v) for [Emim][OAc] and [Bmim][HSO4], respectively for the optimized reaction time of 10 minutes. However, 67.25 % (m/v) and 48.94 % (m/v) of the extracted lignin were obtained for the pretreated SBP with [Emim][OAc] and [Bmim][HSO4], respectively for a reaction time of 20 minutes. This comparative study revealed that, there is no significant difference between the yield of lignin extracted from the complex cellulignin (68.00%) and sugarcane bagasse pellets (67.25 %).The sugarcane bagasse pellets is the preferred method since it doesn’t require high energy input.