Optimisation of ionic liquid-based biomass processing

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The project will involve optimisation of the application of low-cost ionic liquids to the processing of biomass. Target application is the production of biofuels and value-added products, such as fibres for dissolving pulps (textile and consumer products) and nanocellulose. We will use the ionoSolv (BioFlex) process to fractionate biomass into cellulose and lignin product streams and evaluate biofuel and biomaterial product options. The particular challenge in this project will be to optimize the process parameters during extraction to increase cellulose characteristics (low lignin content, long fibre length) while maintaining key process integration characteristics (downstream water usage and energy consumption). The ionoSolv process is under commercial development by Lixea LTD, an Imperial College spin-out company, and data sharing on process development will continue throughout the project.