One-Pot Ionic Liquid Process for Biomass Deconstruction

Solution Overview

Problem

The economic viability of biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass is limited by the recalcitrant nature of biomass to enzymatic hydrolysis, requiring energy-intensive pre-treatment processes that involve expensive ionic liquids and generate waste water.

Innovation Solution

A one-pot process that integrates ionic liquids into the pre-treatment, saccharification, and yeast fermentation steps for high gravity biomass processing, using choline-based ionic liquids with specific anions to enhance the conversion of polysaccharides into fermentable sugars and fermentation products.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If conventional ionic liquid pre-treatment processes are used to solubilize crystalline cellulose and biomass, then the accessibility to and hydrolysis of carbohydrate components is enhanced, but the process becomes energy and time intensive and generates large volumes of waste water

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehydrolysis efficiencyVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation into a single integrated one-pot process using ionic liquids. This merging eliminates the need for separate water-wash steps and multiple processing stages, thereby reducing overall energy consumption and time while maintaining high hydrolysis efficiency. The ionic liquid serves multiple functions throughout the entire process without requiring removal or replacement between stages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent recycles the ionic liquid within the one-pot system rather than discarding it after pre-treatment. The ionic liquid remains in the system throughout pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation, eliminating the need for energy-intensive water-wash steps to remove ionic liquids. This recovery approach significantly reduces both energy consumption and waste water generation while maintaining productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

2Productivity

If conventional ionic liquid pre-treatment processes are used to solubilize crystalline cellulose and biomass, then the accessibility to and hydrolysis of carbohydrate components is enhanced, but expensive ionic liquids are required and large volumes of waste water are generated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehydrolysis efficiencyVSAvoidwaste water generation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation into a single integrated one-pot process using ionic liquids. This merging eliminates the need for separate water-wash steps and multiple processing stages, thereby reducing overall energy consumption and time while maintaining high hydrolysis efficiency. The ionic liquid serves multiple functions throughout the entire process without requiring removal or replacement between stages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent recycles the ionic liquid within the one-pot system rather than discarding it after pre-treatment. The ionic liquid remains in the system throughout pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation, eliminating the need for energy-intensive water-wash steps to remove ionic liquids. This recovery approach significantly reduces both energy consumption and waste water generation while maintaining productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Ease of manufacture

If conventional ionic liquid pre-treatment processes are used, then crystalline cellulose and biomass can be solubilized under relatively mild conditions, but the process requires a water-wash step that results in loss of fermentable sugars

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepre-treatment conditionsVSAvoidfermentable sugar loss

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation into a single integrated one-pot process using ionic liquids. This merging eliminates the need for separate water-wash steps and multiple processing stages, thereby reducing overall energy consumption and time while maintaining high hydrolysis efficiency. The ionic liquid serves multiple functions throughout the entire process without requiring removal or replacement between stages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent recycles the ionic liquid within the one-pot system rather than discarding it after pre-treatment. The ionic liquid remains in the system throughout pre-treatment, saccharification, and fermentation, eliminating the need for energy-intensive water-wash steps to remove ionic liquids. This recovery approach significantly reduces both energy consumption and waste water generation while maintaining productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach achieves high glucose yields and efficient ethanol production with reduced energy consumption and waste generation, while maintaining the bio-compatibility and bio-derived nature of the ionic liquids.

Implementation Method 1

maintaining the mixture under pre-treatment conditions sufficient to dissolve at least a portion of the polysaccharide present in the biomass

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectDissolution: Solvation

Implementation Method 2

adding to the mixture comprising the pre-treated biomass and the ionic liquid or mixture of ionic liquids, a glycoside hydrolase and water under conditions sufficient to hydrolyze at least a portion of the polysaccharide present in the pre-treated biomass

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHydrolysis: Hydrolysis

Implementation Method 3

fermenting the mixture comprising the sugar composition and the ionic liquid or mixture of ionic liquids with a fermentation microorganism under conditions suitable to produce the fermentation product

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFermentation: Fermentation

Data Source

PatentUS12305213B2High gravity, fed-batch ionic liquid based process for deconstructing biomass

Publication Date: 2025.05.20 NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA LLC

AI summary

In one aspect, the present invention provides methods for preparing a fermentation product. The methods include pre-treating a mixture of biomass and ionic liquid, wherein the ionic liquid comprises a choline cation and the biomass comprises polysaccharide and lignin. The methods further include forming hydrolysates from the introduction of glycoside hydrolase to the pre-treated mixture at conditions sufficient to produce a sugar composition mixture for fermentation steps. The present invention provides methods for loading biomass mixtures in a batch-fed process, wherein the biomass slurries can be loaded into water or a concentrated sugar composition for hydrolysate production. The methods can be performed in a one-pot process, wherein the ionic liquids are present in the mixtures throughout each step. Aspects of the invention provide compositions of sugar composition mixtures and fermentation product mixtures.