Applications

  • Biofuel production from agricultural, forestry, and municipal waste
  • Efficient fiber separation for paper and pulp, textiles, and nanocellulose applications
  • Recyclable solvent systems for pretreating biomass and separating components for biorefinery usage 

Advantages/Benefits

  • Dissolves lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose selectively or completely
  • Optimizes solvents for specific biomass component pairs
  • Extracts lignin while keeping other fractions intact
  • Leaves crystalline cellulose fibers intact by removing lignin and hemicellulose
  • Recovers and reuses solvents through vacuum distillation
  • Improves safety with toxicity analysis

Background

Lignocellulosic biomass is a widely available, renewable resource for sustainable fuel and material production. However, efficiently separating its major components – lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose – remains a challenge in industrial bioprocessing. Current methods often suffer from incomplete separation, high cost, or chemical waste. This invention addresses those limitations with a solvent system capable of dissolving specific or all biomass fractions.

Technology Overview

Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute have developed a new method using cyclic amine solvents to improve biomass pretreatment. In lab tests, the solvents dissolved up to 90% of lignin while leaving over 85% of cellulose and hemicellulose intact, ideal for selective lignin extraction. Other solvent combinations dissolved nearly all three biomass components, enabling full biomass deconstruction when needed. The solvents are recyclable and reusable via vacuum distillation with over 95% recovery efficiency, making the process more sustainable. This approach supports more efficient biomass conversion for biofuels and bioproducts while minimizing waste and chemical usage compared to traditional methods.

Development Stage

Proof of Concept 

For More Information:

N/A

Principal Investigator

  • Nikhil Kumar
  • Brian R. Taylor
  • Vallari Chourasia
  • Alberto Rodriguez
  • John M. Gladden
  • Blake A. Simmons
  • Hemant Choudhary
  • Kenneth L. Sale

Status

Patent pending 

Opportunities

Available for licensing or collaborative research