Applications of ionic liquids for the biochemical transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and biochemicals: A critical review

Lignocellulosic materials are valuable resources in today's bioprocess technologies; however, their recalcitrance is a major barrier in industry regarding their conversion to microbial products. For this purpose, in this study, the synthesis of ionic liquids (ILs), its function in the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials, its biochemistry and possible toxic effects were investigated. In addition, the bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials pretreated with ionic liquids to biofuels (bioethanol, biobutanol, biogas and hydrogen) and various biochemicals is discussed in detail. For this, the focus is on the potential of ILs for industrial integration and use in large-scale reactors. ILs offer significant advantages due to their potential for ease of use and their features such as recovery and reuse after pretreatment. However, there are economic and technical problems that need to be solved to expand ILs in industrial systems and increase their use potential. To overcome these problems and the usability of ILs technologies in industry, techno-economic analyses has been examined and compared with traditional processes.