Efficient binary diol-based deep eutectic solvent pretreatment for enhancing enzymatic saccharification and lignin fractionation from eucalyptus

An innovative binary biol-based deep eutectic solvent (DES), specifically ethylamine hydrochloride-ethylene glycol (EaCl-EG), was developed for efficient pretreatment of eucalyptus biomass. This DES exhibited superior performance in achieving high delignification (85.0%) and xylan removal (80.0%), while preserving a significant amount of cellulose (94.5%) compared to choline chloride-based DES. Notably, the pretreated eucalyptus residues showed a remarkable glucose yield of over 92.5%, representing a substantial enhancement of up to 15 times compared to untreated eucalyptus. Furthermore, the pretreated liquor yielded high-purity lignin with a yield of 97.8%, characterized by well-preserved β-O-4 structure and nanoscale dimensions. These lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were subsequently self-assembled into lignin nanobottles (LNBs), adding further value to the pretreatment process. The proposed novel binary EaCl-EG DES presented great potential as an efficient pretreatment solvent for future biomass fractionation processes.