Title
Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose to ethanol by ionic liquid pretreatment
Authors
ZHEN LIU DIANJIA ZHAO and WEI QIN

Received June 22, 2013
Published Volume 49 Issue 2 February
Keywords cellulose, ionic liquid, fermentation, ethanol

Abstract
The production of ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose, pretreated with an ionic liquid (IL), 1-n-butyl-methylimidazolium acetate ([C4mim][CH3COO]), was studied in the present work. The experimental results showed that the degree of polymerization and crystallization of cellulose decreased by ionic liquid pretreatment. Under the pretreatment temperature of 90 °C, pretreatment time of 2 h and ethanol as anti-solvent, the SSF rate of the regenerated cellulose increased by 180%, as compared to that of untreated cellulose. Therefore, ionic liquid pretreatment would be a promising raw material pretreatment technology for the cellulosic ethanol production.