Fructose and glucose dissolution in ionic liquids: Solubility and thermodynamic modeling

Abstract

Biorefining has shown the potential as an alternative source of feedstock instead of crude oil. In parallel, ionic liquids (ILs) have proved to be adequate solvents for biomass processing. Thus, phase equilibrium between carbohydrates and ionic liquids is critical for process design and optimization in biorefineries. In this work, the solubility of glucose and fructose in six ILs were measured in the temperature range 288-339 K. An isothermal method with quantification by HPLC analysis was used. Modeling of solubility was carried out using excess Gibbs energy models (NRTL and UNIQUAC). Experimental data were also compared with literature data. The thermodynamic functions of the dissolution process were calculated from the experimental solubilities.