Production of 2,3-butanediol from cellulose and Jatropha hulls after ionic liquid pretreatment and dilute-acid hydrolysis

Abundant Jatropha waste is a promising renewable feedstock for the production of sugars and 2,3-butanediol fermentation. To obtain high yield of water-soluble products and high concentration of reducing-sugars, ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment and dilute acid hydrolysis at 150 degrees C were combined in this work. The destruction of crystalline structure and increase surface area of biomasses after IL-pretreatment, made their hydrolysis more efficient. Compared with original cellulose, after IL-pretreatment, both the yield and concentration of reducing-sugars increased by 139%, and the water-soluble products yield increased by 128% after hydrolysis. Compared with water-washed Jatropha hulls, after IL-pretreatment, the yield and concentration of reducing-sugars increased by 80% and 76%, respectively, and the water-soluble products yield increased by 70% after hydrolysis. IL-pretreatment benefited the fermentation of Jatropha hull hydrolysate with 66.58% diol yield and its productivity increased from 0.35 to 0.40 g/(L.h).