Selective Separation of Biomass Hydrolysates by Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes

This project investigates the use of Trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(2,4,4-trimethylepentyl)phosphinate, an ionic liquid, in conjunction with a supported liquid membrane of Polypropylene to selectively separate biomass hydrosates: glucose, xylose, furfural, levulinic acid, formic acid, and acetic acid. The transport properties were studied for mixtures of the biomass hydrolysates and the results of these tests were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. The permeability for each of the compounds in the mixture was found. The permeability for the acids and furfural were much higher than xylose and glucose. This shows that the SILM is capable of selectively separating the sugars from the other products