An integrated ionic liquid hybrid polymeric fixed-bed reactor with a porous sponge-like structure for biomass hydrolysis

Biomass hydrolysis into fermentable reducing sugars is essential for the bioethanol production. Novel integrated ionic liquid (IL) hybrid polymeric fixed-bed reactor with porous sponge-like structure was constructed for inulin hydrolysis. The acidic IL, [(CH₂)₃SO₃HVIm]HSO₄ was covalently grafted on polysulfone (PSF). The PSF-ILs integrated porous fixed beds were elaborately prepared by famous non-solvent induced phase separation approach. Effects of coagulation bath composition and temperature, fixed bed height, permeation flux, feed temperature and concentration on inulin hydrolysis were explored intensively. The porous sponge-like structure and chemical binding of ILs endowed the fixed beds with excellent catalytic performance, stability, and reusability. Under optimized conditions, once the inulin aqueous solution permeated through the fixed beds, the yield of total reducing sugar (TRS) reached up to 98.82%. Compared with the catalytic membrane, the hydrolysis reaction time was drastically shortened by 92.5%. These findings provided a new strategy on developing high-performance fixed-bed reactors for biomass conversion.