Biomass and Cellulose Dissolution—The Important Issue in Renewable Materials Treatment

Abstract

Sustainable development strategies, as well as the shift toward a circular bioeconomy, has led to high interest in the development and implementation of technologies that efficiently utilize biomass as a raw material. Switching from fossil-based to bio-based resources requires the consideration of many new challenges and problems. One of the crucial issues is the solubility of lignocellulose or at least its ingredients. According to the trends and legislation, the selected chemicals and methods of dissolution/treatment should also be environmentally friendly. The pretreatment processes prepare biomass for further transformations (e.g., chemical, thermal including pyrolysis, or biological) to valuable products such as biofuels, bio-oils, Fine Chemicals, solvents, plastics, and many others. This review discusses the latest findings on the dissolution of biomass and its ingredients. The application of novel, green solvents such as ionic liquids or deep eutectic solvents is discussed in detail. The impact of the composition and structure of these solvents on the biomass/cellulose dissolution process, as well as the mechanism of cellulose–ionic liquid interaction, is presented. Some novel achievements in the usage of inorganic salts and specific metal complexes are also overviewed.

Polymeric Materials Obtained by Extrusion and Injection Molding from Lignocellulosic Agroindustrial Biomass

“…Cellulose is easily obtained from natural sources, which corroborates its high accessibility, cost effectiveness, applicability, reduced or minimal toxicity, and biocompatibility [37]. The total cellulose content and the arrangement of the crystalline zones are dependent on the plant species and the lignocellulose content, which is directly associated with the resistance potential of the biomaterial and the difficulty of breaking the complex by the action of hydrolysis [38]. Furthermore, there is a diversity in the secondary structures derived from cellulose, or crystal arrangements, such as cellulose I, cellulose II, cellulose III, and cellulose IV [39].…”

Recent Advances in Biopolymer-Based Hydrogel Electrolytes for Flexible Supercapacitors

“…There have been several reports of dissolution issues with regard to these biopolymer- and biomass-based systems. In particular, complex biopolymers such as cellulose often dissolve poorly in alkaline solvents and thus require very specific solution parameters in order to achieve dissolution; 135 however, successful dissolution of biopolymers in ionic liquids has enabled vast enhancement in the design and construction of biopolymer-based ionogel electrolytes. Ionic liquids act not only as solvents but also as electrolyte components to transport ion carriers.…”

Selected Plants as Sources of Natural and Active Ingredients for Cosmetics of the Future

“…These solvents enable the selective and efficient isolation of specific chemicals depending on the solvent used [139]. Furthermore, they can be used for the pretreatment of plant material, which facilitates subsequent extraction [140]. However, traditional isolation methods, such as maceration or extraction in Soxhlet's apparatus, are still often employed as effective techniques for isolation of plant ingredients, especially those mentioned in this work [141][142][143][144].…”