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The importance of medicinal products originated from the plant materials has greatly increased in recent years. Among the different bioactive natural products, flavonoids are crucial compounds and are represented by over 8000 varieties. These flavonoid substances are found largely in the foods of plant sources, and they are subdivided into 13 categories including anthocyanidins, catechins, flavonols and flavones. Considering the promising protective effects of flavonoids against cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancers, increased research has been conducted for the extraction, purification and quantification of distinct flavonoid compounds. Therefore, this chapter intends to furnish a comprehensive view on the advanced extraction, cleanup and quantification techniques that are reported for the improved recovery of different flavonoids from medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits. Several non-conventional techniques such as microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, pressurized-liquid extraction and supercritical fluid extraction processes reported for the improved extraction of flavonoids were critically examined. Further, different analytical methods recently reported for the separation and quantification of flavonoids were discussed extensively. At the end, conclusions and possible recommendations that enhance the extraction and quantification performance of flavonoids were highlighted.

Enzymes are important contributors to the current industrial development as they activate the reactions through enormous pathways. In recent years, ionic liquids (ILs) have become qualified media for clean extraction, photochemistry, green processing, electrosynthesis, and pharmaceutical applications. Although many enzymes have been studied in ILs media, lipases showed exceptional stability, selectivity and production yields. This chapter briefly outlines some merit as well as the downsides of current ILs applications in lipases reactions including the production of biodiesel, esterification and other established applications.

We report a one-step emulsification and rapid freeze-drying process to develop a curcumin-ionic liquid (CCM-IL) complex that could be readily dispersed in water with a significantly enhanced solubility of ∼8 mg mL-1 and half-life (t1/2) of ∼260 min compared with free CCM (solubility ∼30 nM and t1/2 ∼ 20 min). This process using an IL consisting of a long chain carbon backbone as a surfactant, may provide an alternative way of enhancing the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs.

The quality of tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO) and the pollution generated through tyre pyrolysis units were investigated. Two oil types are generally produced, known as light TPO and heavy TPO, exhibiting a pungent smell. Gross calorific value (GCV) of TPO varies from 18275.5 Btu/lb to 18641.8 Btu/lb. GCV shows TPO can be used as fuel oil in industries for energy recovery purposes. The density of heavy oil was lower as compared to light oil. Values of density for both oils were higher than the furnace oil and petroleum, which are 0.96 g/cm3 for local furnace oil and 0.98 g/cm3 for imported furnace oil and 0.88 for petroleum. Results showed that tyre pyrolysis units are badly affecting the surrounding environment. The emission level of CO was 2608 ± 1442.3 mg/Nm3 at site 1, NOx was 826.16 ± 645.52 mg/Nm3 at site 2, SO2 was 997 ± 1164 at site 2 and emission of PM was 1629 ± 311.6 mg/Nm3 at site 2. The emission level of all these pollutants was above permissible limits. The effluents results show that the concentration of sulphate, TSS, TDS, copper (Cu + 2 ), and manganese was above the allowable limit. COD was very high; it varied from 31809 mg/L to 42144 mg/L.

β-carotene, an important biomolecule from the carotenoid family with highly unsaturated heavy structure (C40H56) can be found in plenty of sea products, fruits and vegetables. This hydrocarbon with a noticeable anti-oxidant attribute is known to be a valuable compound in food and pharmaceutical industries. This study aimed to have a detailed probe on the capability of aqueous solution of ammonium based ionic liquids (ILs) to extract β-carotene from its model solvent, n-hexane. The work entails the screening of ILs by employing Conductor-Like Screening Model For Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) tool based on the numerical prediction of relationship between ILs structure and its extraction potential. The simulated results were then complemented experimentally. Besides, process conditions for β-carotene extraction from n-hexane; including IL water content, two-phase volumetric ratio (aqueous to organic) and extraction time were also optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD). The results indicate that tetramethylammonium and trimethylethylammonium based ILs with acetate anion exhibited potential extraction efficiency of 63.09% and 37.89% for β-carotene, respectively. Interestingly, ‘IL water content’ is found to be the most efficacious parameter in the extraction process while ‘time’ retained a nominal impact. In the promise of these findings, we firmly believe that this newly proposed method would open a new pathway for β-carotene extraction for numerous applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been found to be highly promising for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, due to their excellent abilities to dissolve biopolymers. However, they have found to inactivate enzymes. In previous studies, Cholinium-based ILs showed great compatibility with cellulases and thus were introduced for a combined-system. This study aims to find the optimum condition in order to achieve the maximum pretreatment-hydrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB). Definitive screening design (DSD) was employed with seven factors that are thought to impact the process including pretreatment temperature, pretreatment time, hydrolysis time, enzyme loading, particle size, biomass loading, and IL/buffer ratio. DSD offered several solutions for optimization in which they were experimentally tested. The maximum sugar concentration (77 g/L) was obtained at 90 °C, 70–116 min of treatment, 36–42 h of hydrolysis, 40–62 Unit/g cellulase loading, 34–35 %, w/v) biomass loading, 220–450 μ particle size, and 10 % (v/v) IL to buffer ratio, respectively. The subsequent optimization by response surface methodology (RSM) revealed the temperature for treatment can drop to 75 °C while fixing the pretreatment time at 100 min. Around 75 unit/g of cellulase and >22.0 % (w/v) of the biomass could be loaded to achieve a minimum of 70.0 ± 7.83 g/L of sugar, equivalent to 0.38 ± 0.08 g glucose/g and 0.48 ± 0.05 g total reducing sugar/g dry EFB. The locally produced cellulase (PKC-Cel) from Trichoderma reesei exhibited promising results in the single-step process and can be used as an efficient approach to be optimized for fermentation to bioethanol production.

Recently, the concept of high solids loading in ionic liquid (IL) based pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass has gained numerous attention due to significant economic, environmental, and sustainability benefits. The objective of the present work was to investigate the impact of ILs pretreatment of lignocellulosic oil palm frond (OPF) biomass at high solids loading on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite panels. The process combines the pretreatment of OPF particles with ILs [bmim][Cl] (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) and [emim][OAc] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) followed by IL recovery by rinsing with acetone-water mixture prior to mixing of OPF particles with polymer binder to fabricate compression-molded composite panels. Untreated and treated OPF particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and chemical composition analysis. Further, the effect of ILs pretreatment on kinetics of thermal degradation of biocomposites was evaluated by activation energy approach. Maximal flexural strength, modulus, and strain energy density (SED) of 25 MPa, 1,928 MPa, and 0.48 MJ/m3, respectively, were found for IL [emim][OAc] treated composite. Besides, thermal properties of IL treated composites were also improved. Present study could be a significant step toward practical IL pretreatment strategies for manufacturing of lignocellulosic based composite materials. POLYM. COMPOS., 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers

Thermo-kinetic models for biomass pyrolysis were simulated under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions to predict the optimum parameters for bio-oil production. A comparative study for wood, sewage sludge, and newspaper print pyrolysis was conducted. The models were numerically solved by using the fourth order Runge–Kutta method in Matlab-7. It was also observed that newspaper print acquired least pyrolysis time to attain optimum bio-oil yield followed by wood and sewage sludge under the identical conditions of temperature and heating rate. Thus, at 10 K/min, the optimum pyrolysis time was 21.0, 23.8, and 42.6 min for newspaper print, wood, and sewage sludge, respectively, whereas the maximum bio-oil yield predicted was 68, 52, and 36%, respectively.

The use of lignocellulosic biomass-based composite materials over petro-materials has received increased attention due to growing environmental awareness, concerns for environmental sustainability, an increasing global waste problem and depletion of fossil fuels. Effective pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is an important and challenging task for production of engineered composite panels. In the present work, the effect of ionic liquids (ILs) pretreatment on the properties of thermo-molded biocomposite board fabricated from oil palm frond (OPF) lignocellulosic residue and thermoplastic starch (TPS) binder was studied. OPF fiber was pretreated with ILs [bmim][Cl] (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) and [emim][dep] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate). Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the biocomposite board prepared from untreated and ILs -treated OPF fibers were investigated. Moreover, lignocellulosic characterization, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed to understand the effect of IL pretreatment on OPF fiber. It was noted that thermal stability of the biocomposite board was improved as a result of IL pretreatment. Flexural testing evidenced that biocomposite board fabricated from IL-treated fiber exhibited superior strength and modulus compared to that of untreated composite board. The study clearly indicates that IL-assisted pretreatment could be a highly promising and green technology for effective utilization of lignocellulosic biomass in the biocomposite field.

Recently, a great attention has been paid to advanced microwave technology that can be used to markedly enhance the biodiesel production process. Ceiba pentandra Seed Oil containing high free fatty acids (FFA) was utilized as a non-edible feedstock for biodiesel production. Microwave-assisted esterification pretreatment was conducted to reduce the FFA content for promoting a high-quality product in the next step. At optimum condition, the conversion was achieved 94.43% using 2wt% of sulfuric acid as catalyst where as 20.83% conversion was attained without catalyst. The kinetics of this esterification reaction was also studied to determine the influence of factors on the rate of reaction and reaction mechanisms. The results indicated that microwave-assisted esterification was of endothermic second-order reaction with the activation energy of 53.717kJ/mol.

Conversion of recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomass to renewable and valuable biopolymers has attracted global interest to build up sustainable societies. Delignification of biomass for separating such biopolymers (e.g., cellulose and lignin) has been used as an efficient process. However, conventional delignification methods suffer from considerable drawbacks and cannot be considered as clean processes. In this study, a new type of polyoxometalate (POM) ionic liquid (IL), [(C6N2H11)42][Mo132O372 (CH3COO)30(H2O)72].ca 284 H2O ([1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium] [Mo132O372 (CH3COO)30 (H2O)72].ca 184 H2O) (abbreviated as [emim]POM), was synthesized and employed as a catalyst in the delignification of wood biomass. The synthesized [emim]POM catalyst was characterized by CNH analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicated that the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [emim] group was appended to a (NH4)42 [Mo132O372(CH3COO)30 (H2O)72].ca 120 H2O POM precursor in which the [emim] group replaced the ammonium group. The [emim]POM catalyst effectively delignified wood in an IL [emim][OAc] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) system: The lignin content of the produced cellulose-rich material was ca. 7.0 %, much lower than the 32.0 % lignin content of the untreated wood biomass. The delignification efficiency was improved by optimizing IL catalyst loading, the IL concentration, and the reaction conditions. This POM-based IL could be used in the delignification of lignocellulosic biomass to isolate cellulose and lignin for further chemical and mechanical processing.

The enzymatic delignification of lignocellulosic biomass for separation of cellulose, Earth’s most abundant biopolymer, has been generally acknowledged as an environmentally friendly process. However, this approach for lignin degradation has been found to be very slow due to the difficulties in enzyme accessibility to the solid substrate. To address this issue, this paper reports a delignification process of oil palm frond biomass (OPFB) that combined an ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment (dissolution and recovery of treated OPFB by anti-solvent), followed by enzymatic delignification. The pretreatment of biomass was conducted using a hydrophilic IL [EMIM][DEP] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate), which possesses very high solubility for lignocellulosic biomass. Pretreated and untreated materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and chemical methods. IL pretreatment significantly enhanced the rate of enzymatic delignification of OPFB. The lignin content of produced materials was about 8.5 wt%, much lower than 24.0 wt% lignin content of untreated OPFB materials. Obtained cellulose-rich OPFB fibers exhibited higher thermal stability compared to untreated OPFB, possibly due to removal of lignin. These results indicate that IL pretreatment may provide unique advantages to separation of cellulose rich OPFB fibers for composite, textile and other industrial applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been increasingly exploited as solvents and/or reagents in many applications due to their “green” properties as well as their tunable physicochemical and biological properties. One of them is the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass prior to enzymatic hydrolysis for bioenergy and biomaterials production. Generally, the process composed of an IL pretreatment/recovered followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Another approach was developed in which simultaneous pretreatment and saccharification of biomass in ILs were performed. However, the use of ILs in this integrated process, in which enzymatic hydrolysis is done in the presence of IL applied for biomass pretreatment, can easily inactivate the enzymes. Cellulases, one of the most important hydrolytic enzymes used to catalyze the polysaccharide, showed good levels of stability in many ILs. In addition, various approaches were made including synthesis of enzyme-compatible ILs, screening ILs-tolerant enzymes and media engineering to improve cellulases performance. In this review paper, recent advances of the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass in a single-step process in ILs will be highlighted. Various cellulase stabilization approaches and the design of enzyme compatible biomass-dissolving ILs are also discussed. We strongly believe that IL-compatible cellulase systems would eliminate the need to recover the regenerated biomass and lead to a simple, in situ saccharification of cellulosic materials, which would be beneficial in developing integrated bioprocesses.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a stable semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer with excellent thermal and chemical properties and is used in many applications, especially as a biomaterial. However, poor mechanical properties: mismatching of elastic modulus to human bone retards the use of PEEK as a biomaterial for bone implant material. In the present study, ionic liquid (IL) modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes were used to prepare PEEK nanocomposites via internal mixer and compression molding processes. The morphologies, thermal and mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites were evaluated. Uniform and excellent distribution of MWCNTs into PEEK was achieved by optical microscopy. The thermogravimetric study showed that the decomposition temperature of the composites was boosted 7 % ± 0.9 as compared to those of PEEK composites prepared without IL. Moreover, the elastic modulus of the PEEK nanocomposites was improved by ionic liquid modified MWCNTs into the PEEK. Thus, the prepared PEEK nanocomposites have the potential to be used for fabricating bone implants.

Nanocellulose (NC) has generated interest from the scientific community because of their biodegradability, and unique physiochemical characteristics. In this study, ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate [Bmim][HSO4] combined with high ultrasonication is used to prepare NC from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The investigation by atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the obtained NC had a rod-like shape with average particle diameter and length of 0.77±0.28μm, 2.11±0.65mμ respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) characterization exhibited that the prepared NC maintained the cellulose type I structure and the recovered IL (97%) composition remained intact as the pure IL. Therefore, it is expected to develop a green approach to produce nanocellulose with high quality using ILs.

Over the past two decades, ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely used for enzymatic conversions of substrates — especially substrates that are insoluble in common organic solvents and water — resulting in high conversion rates, high selectivity, and improved enzyme stability, wherein the ILs are recoverable and recyclable. Compared with performance in first-generation ILs, researchers recently considerably improved the technological utility of enzymes in second- and third-generation ILs composed of enzyme-benign cations and anions. Use of upgraded ILs with enzymes offers further improved activity and stability compared with research studies in the past decade, rendering IL-assisted biocatalytic processes more environmentally and economically attractive. This short review briefly presents recent developments of enzymatic reactions in ILs. The review covers approaches for and modifications of enzymes and ILs within the past 2 years for improved enzymes performance in ILs.

Water, a blessing for human beings and guarantees the existence of all species present on this planet. However, its scarcity and pollution disrupts the health security of millions of people every year. Consequently, it needs utmost attention and precautions to make it clean, clear and hygienic. Similarly, under the current energy and economic scenario, it is also difficult to find new ways to efficiently use the significant amount of biomass produced annually. Therefore, in this study, a chemical reduction method was used for preparation of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). Synthesized nanoparticles were successfully incorporated onto bagasse and rice husk and employed for removal of bacteria (E. coli) from synthetic water. The morphological characteristics and size distribution of CuNPs were examined through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the presence of functional groups of substrate materials before and after incorporation of CuNPs. Whereas, concentration of copper in prepared materials was determined through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Various factors were investigated to maximize bacteria removal, including material dose, contact time and pH. The results showed that the optimal conditions for removing bacteria from water were a material dose of 2.0 g, a contact time of 100–120 min, and a pH range of 5–9. Bacterial removal efficiency of CuNPs incorporated rice husk was measured 100%, higher than 95% achieved by using CuNPs incorporated bagasse. The quality of treated water was evaluated for copper contents and was found to be within the permissible limit set by Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority. Derived materials were quite efficient and stable and no significant difference in antibacterial properties was observed over a period of 5 weeks. Consequently, the formation of such materials is considered environmentally friendly, economical and highly applicable.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have unique physicochemical properties. ILs with long carbon chains are called surface-active ILs, and they have surfactant properties. In this study, we synthesize (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium lauroyl sarcosinate) [BMIM] [Lausar] IL that have surfactant properties. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) was used to confirm the chemical structure of the synthesized IL. The surface tension of [BMIM] [Lausar] was determined that it was almost 37.1mN/m. Tween 80 is the most famous commercial surfactant, and we also determine the surface tension of Tween 80. Afterword, we make the binary mixture of Tween 80 and IL-based surfactants. Based on our results, we can conclude that Tween 80 and [BMIM] [Lausar] both reduced surface tension and have excellent surface properties when combining and can be used as surfactants in many sectors.

Glycerol pretreatment is a promising method for the environmentally-friendly transformation of lignocellulosic materials into sustainable cellulose-rich raw materials (i.e., biopolymer) to fabricate biocomposites. Here, a comparison of aqueous acidified glycerol (AAG) pretreatment of wheat straw (WS) with alkaline, hot water, and dilute acid pretreatments on the thermal and mechanical characteristics of their fabricated composite board is presented. A comparison of total energy expenditure during WS pretreatment with AAG and other solutions was estimated and a comparative influence of AAG processing on lignocellulosic constituents and thermal stability of WS fiber was studied. Results imply that AAG pretreatment was superior in generating cellulose-rich fiber (CRF) as compared to other pretreatments and enhanced the cellulose contents by 90% compared to raw WS fiber. Flexural strength of acidic (40.50 MPa) and hot water treated WS composite (38.71 MPa) was higher compared to the value of 33.57 MPa for untreated composite, but AAG-treated composites exhibited lower values of flexural strength (22.22 MPa) compared to untreated composite samples. Conversely, AAG pretreatment consumed about 56% lesser energy for each kg of WS processed as compared to other pretreatments. These findings recognize that glycerol pretreatment could be a clean and new pretreatment strategy to convert agricultural waste into high-quality CRF as a sustainable raw material source for engineered biocomposite panels.

Inverse vulcanization offers a new method to make value to this cheap and highly abundant sulfur to produce sulfur-based polymers for different applications. However, most of the research done so far dealt with the characterization of the polymers or their efficiency in certain applications. Here, 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) is reacted with sulfur under optimized reaction conditions to produce linear sulfur-based polymer. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is employed to optimize the reaction conditions in terms of reaction temperature, reaction time, and initial sulfur content. The properties of the polymer produced under optimized conditions are then evaluated using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), CHNS elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The formation of the polymer and full conversion of the monomers were confirmed by NMR and CHNS analysis. The S/VBC polymer showed a uniform morphology and smooth surface. The polymer demonstrated an amorphous structure with a low Tg (3.7 °C), high thermal stability (205 °C), and great stability against depolymerization by time. The S/VBC polymer is significant due to its ability for post-functionalization which makes it possible to introduce new applications to sulfur-based polymers.

In this study, three novel ionic liquids (ILs) having dihydrogen phosphate anion namely, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dihydrogen phosphate (EMIMDHP), 1-(3-cyanopropyl)-3-methylimidazolium dihydrogen phosphate (CPMIM DHP) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dihydrogen phosphate (BMIM DHP) are synthesized through metathesis reaction for their potential application as novel gas hydrate inhibitors. Their structures are confirmed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR). The ILs effects on the equilibrium methane hydrate dissociation curve and the induction time in a pressure range of 50 to 100 bar are measured in a high-pressure micro-differential scanning calorimeter (HP Micro-DSC). The inhibition ability of these ILs towards hydrate formation are predicted through the analysis of σ-profile, which describe the hydrogen-bond formation properties of the ILs, computed by COSMO-RS software. Prior to that, a standard correlation model for hydrate dissociation of pure water as the baseline for the Hydrate-aqueous Liquid-Vapor Equilibrium (HLVE) curve is successfully developed through experimental and literature data. Hence, this model can be used by any researcher as a baseline for the HLVE curve. Through the Micro-DSC experiments, these ILs are found to perform a dual-functional thermodynamic and kinetic inhibitor behaviour. These ILs simultaneously shift the HLVE curve to a lower temperature and retard the hydrate formation by slowing down the hydrate nucleation rate.

Surface-active ionic liquid (SAIL) surfactants have attracted attention as promising alternatives to conventional surfactants because of their tailor-made and tunable properties. SAILs also address the limitations associated with conventional surfactants including toxicity and formation of unstable micelles. Here, we investigated the aggregation behavior of three biocompatible choline N-lauroyl-amino acid (NLAA)-based ILs with different amino acid side chains in aqueous solutions. The micellar behaviors of NLAA-ILs were investigated using surface tensiometry, conductometry, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the NLAA-ILs was found to be 2 to 4-fold lower compared with the conventional surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The thermodynamic behavior confirmed that the micelle formation of NLAA-ILs was stable, spontaneous and entropy driven at room temperature. DLS and TEM studies revealed that the size and shape of the micelles depended on the presence of an N‑hydrogen group in the head group of the anion. Choline N-lauroyl glycinate ([Cho][NLG]) and dicholine N-lauroyl aspartate ([Cho]2[NLA]) were predominantly produced as unilamellar vesicles in water whereas choline N-lauroyl sarcosinate ([Cho][NLS]) formed small spherical micelles. Importantly, SAIL [Cho][NLG] showed lower toxicity toward mammalian cells compared with the analogous ILs or the conventional surfactant SDS and similar toxicity to the conventional surfactant Tween 80. SAIL [Cho][NLG] was more efficient at forming hydrophobic ion pairs with the macromolecular drug heparin compared with SAIL [Cho][NLS]. These results clearly suggest that the biocompatible NLAA-ILs represent promising potential substitutes for conventional surfactants in various biomedical applications.

Among the alternative water sources, rainwater harvesting is the most popular and readily useable. However, studies related to the knowledge of future sustainability of this resource and its usage are limited. In this paper, projected future rainfall data for two distinct future set of periods (2020–39 and 2080–99) are used to calculate future water savings potentials using an earlier developed daily water balance model for five different regions in Sydney, the largest city in Australia. The rainfall data is collected from four different projection tools provided by the Australian government’s climate data portal. With the assumptions of average household water demand as 400 L/day, a tank size of 5000 L and a roof catchment area of 200 m2, water savings and reliabilities of water availability are calculated for future scenarios for five different locations within a broader region of Sydney. Water savings and reliabilities are then compared with the same for current average rainfall condition based on historical data for the same locations. It is found that for most of the studied cases, both in the near (2020–39) and distant (2080–99) future, water savings as well as reliabilities are expected to be decreased compared to the current average scenario. However, in the distant future, both water savings and reliabilities are expected to be increased compared to the near future scenario. Also, it is predicted that spatial variability of water savings within the selected region will increase compared to the current scenario.

Formulations based on ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as potential alternatives to conventional dispersants for remediating the effect of oil spills. However, the performance of such IL formulations is greatly affected by various environmental factors. The present study developed a model that correlates the wave-mixing energy, temperature and salinity with the dispersion effectiveness for a formulation comprising an IL surfactant and a biosurfactant using response surface methodology. The experimental results were fitted with a second-order quadratic model; the analysis of variance showed good correlation between the experimental and predicted data with a R2 value of 0.9968. The maximum dispersion effectiveness was found to be 88.4% at the optimized conditions of a stirring rate of 242 rpm, temperature of 28.3 °C and salinity of 3.4 wt% with an experimental error of

This article comprehensively reviews the potential application and effects of different moieties of ionic liquids (ILs) on shale stabilization processes. The shale swelling inhibitory mechanisms and dispersion properties of 22 ILs were discussed. The effect of IL's concentration, temperature, chain length, cations, anions and polymerization functionally are discussed. Also, the toxicity and biodegradability of ILs are briefly provided. This study highlighted that more positive groups and alkyl substituents, and shorter alkyl chains are helpful for high performances. Understanding different IL's anion/cation effects are highly required. The study provides guidelines to design ILs for shale stabilization.

Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is an effective way to recover and remove biologically active compounds, particularly drug molecules from hospital wastewater. Ionic liquid (IL)-assisted ELMs have recently been found to be efficient for recovery and removal of biologically active compounds owing to their excellent characteristics. However, the selection of potential ILs from the wide range of anion-cation combinations is quite challenging. To address this issue, the conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) has emerged as a reliable tool to screen solvents based on a variety of fluid mixture properties. In this study, we screened ILs for the extraction of lactic acid as a model drug using COSMO-RS. Six cations and 20 anions were selected and combined to form 120 ILs, which were then assessed for recovery of lactic acid. The activity coefficient at infinite dilution, capacity, selectivity, performance index, and solvation energy values for all of the combinations were predicted, by which the effectiveness of each IL was evaluated. ILs without aromatic rings showed greater efficiencies than ILs containing aromatic rings. Moreover, the sulphate anion-cation combinations showed the highest capacities and selectivities. Overall, tetramethylammonium sulfate was found to be the best extractant for lactic acid. The COSMO-RS predictions were validated with experimental data, and the results showed a maximum difference of ~8.0 between the predicted and experimental values.

The application of chemical dispersants in marine oil spill remediation is comprehensively reported across the globe. But, the augmented toxicity and poor biodegradability of reported chemical dispersants have created necessity for their replacement with the bio-based green dispersants. Therefore, in the present study, we have synthesized five ionic liquids (ILs) namely 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium lauroylsarcosinate, 1,1’-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(1-H-pyrrolidinium) dodecylbenzenesulfonate, tetrabutylammonium citrate, tetrabutylammonium polyphosphate and tetrabutylammonium ethoxylate oleyl ether glycolate, and formulated a water based ILs dispersant combining the synthesized ILs at specified compositions. The effectiveness of formulated ILs dispersant was found between 70.75% and 94.71% for the dispersion of various crude oils ranging from light to heavy. Further, the acute toxicity tests against zebra fish and grouper fish have revealed the practically non-toxic behaviour of formulated ILs dispersant with LC50 value greater than 100 ppm after 96 h. In addition, the formulated ILs dispersant has provided excellent biodegradability throughout the test period. Overall, the formulated new ILs dispersant is deemed to facilitate environmentally benign oil spill remediation and could effectively substitute the use of hazardous chemical dispersants in immediate future.

Ionic liquids (ILs) based surfactants have been emerged as attractive alternatives to the conventional surfactants owing to their tailor-made and eco-friendly properties. Therefore, present study described the synthesis of nine new fatty amino acids based IL surfactants utilizing lauroyl sarcosinate anion and pyrrolidinium, imidazolium, pyridinium, piperidinium, morpholinium and cholinium cations for the first time. The synthesized surface active lauroyl sarcosinate ionic liquids (SALSILs) were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and TGA. Next, the surface tension and critical micellar concentrations were determined and compared with the surface properties of ILs based surfactants. Further, the toxicity and biodegradability of the synthesized SALSIILs were evaluated to confirm their safe and efficient process applications. The studies revealed that three out of nine synthesized SALSILs containing pyridinium cation have showed strong activity towards the tested microbial growth. The remaining six SALSILs met the biocompatible measures demonstrating moderate to low activity depends on the tested microbes. The alicyclic SALSILs containing morpholinium and piperidinium cations have demonstrated 100% biodegradation after 28 days of the test period. Overall, it is believed that the synthesized SALSILs could effectively replace the conventional surfactants in a wide variety of applications.

Textile manufacturing is one of the core industries which discharges a heavy load of chemicals during the dying process. As a result, the release of large contents of dyes through aqueous effluents leads to both environmental and economic concerns. The present study investigates the removal of a model cationic dye, i.e., methylene blue using a reverse micelles system of 1-hexanol as an organic solvent and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) as an anionic surfactant. The influence of different parameters including surfactant concentration, reaction time and dye concentration on extraction performance, was studied. Extraction efficiency was increased with increasing time and surfactant concentration, while it was decreased with the increase in dye concentration. For this system, the optimum extraction condition correspond to surfactant concentration around 0.05M, equilibrium time 20min and dye concentration around 500 ppm, resulting in extraction efficiencies around 99%. The microdomains of water within the reverse micelle system are the driving force for the clarification of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution.

Transdermal delivery of drugs is more challenging for drugs that are insoluble or sparingly soluble in water and most organic solvents. To overcome this problem, ionic liquid (IL)-mediated ternary systems have been suggested as potential drug carriers. Here, we report potent ternary (IL-EtOH-IPM) systems consisting of biocompatible ILs, ethanol (EtOH), and isopropyl myristate (IPM) that can dissolve a significant amount of the sparingly soluble drug acyclovir (ACV). The ternary systems were optically transparent and thermodynamically stable with a wide range of IL pertinence. An in vitro drug permeation study showed that the ILs in the ternary systems dramatically enhanced ACV permeation into and across the skin. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy of the stratum corneum (sc) after treatment with ternary systems showed that the skin barrier function was reduced by disturbance of the regularly ordered arrangement of corneocytes and modification of the surface properties of the sc during permeation. Histological analysis, and skin irritation studies using a reconstructed human epidermis model showed the safety profile of the ternary system, and there were no significant changes in the structures of the sc, epidermis, and dermis. Therefore, ternary systems containing biocompatible ILs are promising for transdermal delivery of insoluble or sparingly soluble drugs.

A large variety of human activity are primarily responsible of striking our natural water resources. Among all, the entry of pharmaceuticals into drinking water sources is the latest threat that is caused by different human activities. The rapid growing population and restricted freshwater resources have created the necessity to treat polluted water for drinking purposes. Recently, graphene-based nanomaterials for the water purification have drawn researchers' interest owing to their specific structure and unique electrochemical properties. Therefore, this chapter discusses the utility of various graphene-based nanomaterials for the removal of pharmaceuticals from contaminated waters. At first, we discuss the fate and health hazards of pharmaceuticals if present in the water, followed by the advanced removal processes. Next, various surface modification methods for the preparation of graphene composites have been discussed. Also, the latest research reported for the removal of pharmaceuticals using graphene-based nanomaterials following adsorption, catalytic oxidation, and photocatalytic degradation processes were discussed in detail. Further, the influence of various reaction parameters on the removal efficiency has been described following the stability of graphene-based nanomaterials. Finally, recommendations have been made according to the current practices and applications in water industry to improve the contaminated water treatment processes.

Plants mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) containing desired characteristics for their suitable potential applications has been a challenging task, which is causing a major hindrance towards its commercialization. Therefore, herein phytosynthesis of AuNPs with required size and morphology has been achieved through manipulating the reaction conditions including reaction temperature and volume of Elaeis guineensis leaves (EGL) extract. Furthermore, photocatalytic potential of EGL mediated AuNPs having different size and shape has also been explored for the removal of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The reaction temperature and volume of EGL strongly influenced the size and morphology of AuNPs, which are directly associated with the photocatalytic activities. The experimental results revealed that predominantly spherical and ultra-smaller size AuNPs with particle size of 16.26 ± 5.84 nm, formed at 70 °C showed the highest removal efficiency up to 92.55 % in 60 min. This highest photocatalytic activity of AuNPs could be attributed to the availability of higher number of low-coordinated gold (Au) atoms in the MB aqueous solution, which might have boosted the adsorption of the MB on the surface of particles and accelerated the degradation phenomenon. The proposed photocatalytic degradation mechanism of AuNPs for MB was also explained. The highly photoactive EGL mediated AuNPs with controllable morphology and size could be an advance step in future in chemical and biomedical applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs), a class of materials with unique physicochemical properties, have been used extensively in the fields of chemical engineering, biotechnology, material sciences, pharmaceutics, and many others. Because ILs are very polar by nature, they can migrate into the environment with the possibility of inclusion in the food chain and bioaccumulation in living organisms. However, the chemical natures of ILs are not quintessentially biocompatible. Therefore, the practical uses of ILs must be preceded by suitable toxicological assessments. Among different methods, the use of microorganisms to evaluate IL toxicity provides many advantages including short generation time, rapid growth, and environmental and industrial relevance. This article reviews the recent research progress on the toxicological properties of ILs toward microorganisms and highlights the computational prediction of various toxicity models.

PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) have emerged as biodegradable plastics more strongly in the 20th century. A wide range of bacterial species along with fungi, plants, oilseed crops and carbon sources have been used extensively to synthesize PHA on large scales. Alteration of PHA monomers in their structures and composition has led to the development of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers with highly specific mechanical properties. This leads to the incorporation of PHA in numerous biomedical applications within the previous decade. PHAs have been fabricated in various forms to perform tissue engineering to repair liver, bone, cartilage, heart tissues, cardiovascular tissues, bone marrow, and to act as drug delivery system and nerve conduits. A large number of animal trials have been carried out to assess the biomedical properties of PHA monomers, which also confirms the high compatibility of PHA family for this field. This review summarizes the synthesis of PHA from different sources, and biosynthetic pathways and biomedical applications of biosynthesized polyhydroxyalkanoates.

Paclitaxel (PTX) injection (i.e., Taxol) has been used as an effective chemotherapeutic treatment for various cancers. However, the current Taxol formulation contains Cremophor EL, which causes hypersensitivity reactions during intravenous administration and precipitation by aqueous dilution. This communication reports the preliminary results on the ionic liquid (IL)-based PTX formulations developed to address the aforementioned issues. The formulations were composed of PTX/cholinium amino acid ILs/ethanol/Tween-80/water. A significant enhancement in the solubility of PTX was observed with considerable correlation with the density and viscosity of the ILs, and with the side chain of the amino acids used as anions in the ILs. Moreover, the formulations were stable for up to 3 months. The driving force for the stability of the formulation was hypothesized to be the involvement of different types of interactions between the IL and PTX. In vitro cytotoxicity and antitumor activity of the IL-based formulations were evaluated on HeLa cells. The IL vehicles without PTX were found to be less cytotoxic than Taxol, while both the IL-based PTX formulation and Taxol exhibited similar antitumor activity. Finally, in vitro hypersensitivity reactions were evaluated on THP-1 cells and found to be significantly lower with the IL-based formulation than Taxol. This study demonstrated that specially designed ILs could provide a potentially safer alternative to Cremophor EL as an effective PTX formulation for cancer treatment giving fewer hypersensitivity reactions.

Ionic liquids (ILs), a potentially attractive "green," recyclable alternative to environmentally harmful volatile organic compounds, have been increasingly exploited as solvents and/or cosolvents and/or reagents in a wide range of applications, including pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for further processing. The enzymatic delignification of biomass to degrade lignin, a complex aromatic polymer, has received much attention as an environmentally friendly process for clean separation of biopolymers including cellulose and lignin. For this purpose, enzymes are generally isolated from naturally occurring fungi or genetically engineered fungi and used in an aqueous medium. However, enzymatic delignification has been found to be very slow in these conditions, sometimes taking several months for completion. In this chapter, we highlight an environmentally friendly and efficient approach for enzymatic delignification of lignocellulosic biomass using room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) as (co)solvents or/and pretreatment agents. The method comprises pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass in IL-aqueous systems before enzymatic delignification, with the aim of overcoming the low delignification efficiency associated with low enzyme accessibility to the solid substrate and low substrate and product solubilities in aqueous systems. We believe the processes described here can play an important role in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass-the most abundant renewable biomaterial in the world-to biomaterials, biopolymers, biofuels, bioplastics, and hydrocarbons. Graphical Abstract.

The pretreatment of empty fruit bunch (EFB) was conducted using an integrated system of IL and cellulases (IL-E), with simultaneous fermentation in one vessel. The cellulase mixture (PKC-Cel) was derived from Trichoderma reesei by solid-state fermentation. Choline acetate [Cho]OAc was utilized for the pretreatment due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. The treated EFB and its hydrolysate were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and chemical analysis. The results showed that there were significant structural changes in EFB after the treatment in IL-E system. The sugar yield after enzymatic hydrolysis by the PKC-Cel was increased from 0.058 g/g of EFB in the crude sample (untreated) to 0.283 and 0.62 ± 06 g/g in IL-E system after 24 and 48 h of treatment, respectively. The EFB hydrolysate showed the eligibility for ethanol production without any supplements where ethanol yield was 0.275 g ethanol/g EFB in the presence of the IL, while lower yield obtained without IL-pretreatment. Moreover, it was demonstrated that furfural and phenolic compounds were not at the level of suppressing the fermentation process. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13205-018-1253-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials is a highly essential and critical task for the manufacturing of engineered composite panels. Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as a promising green solvent for lignocellulosic biomass disintegration. In this work, the impact of IL pretreatment on the flexural and thermal properties of the thermo-molded biocomposite panels made from oil palm biomass residue and thermoplastic starch biopolymer as binder was studied. Oil palm fiber was pretreated with IL [emim][dep] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate) and IL [bmim][Cl] (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) prior to mixing with plasticized starch. The compounded mixture was then hot-pressed into composite panels. To understand the effect of IL pretreatment, lignocellulosic characterization, morphology, and thermogravimetric analysis of the untreated and treated fibers were performed. It was found that thermal stability of the oil palm biomass and the biocomposites was improved after IL pretreatment due to partial removal of hemicellulose and lignin from raw fiber. Moreover, pretreated biocomposites exhibited superior strength and modulus as compared to that of untreated sample as evidenced from flexural testing. The study plainly demonstrates that IL-assisted pretreatment could be an extremely attractive and clean technology for the efficient use of agro-based industrial waste in biocomposite field.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the chemical composition of essential oil through GC-MS and look for new antibacterial drug agents from T. foenum graecum. Methods: Bacterial strains Sarcina lutea IFO 3232, Bacillus subtilis IFO 3026, Xanthomonas campestris IAM 1671, Escherichia coli IFO 3007, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATTC 10031, Proteus vulgaris MTCC 321 and Pseudomonas denitrificans KACC 32026 were used to measure the antibacterial activity by disc diffusion assay and therefore the chemical composition of essential oil through GC-MS. Results: GC–MS analysis of the essential oil from T. foenum graecum revealed the presence of fourteen different compounds of that Decane, 5, 6-bis (2, 2 dimethylpropylidene), (E,Z)-(19.58%); Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (18.81%); 5, 10-Diethoxy-2, 3, 7, 8-tetrahydro-1H,6H-dipyrrolo[1, 2-a;1’, 2’-d] pyrazine (5.81%) and Octadecanoic acid, methyl ester (3.28%) were the major compounds and therefore the minor compounds were Oxiraneoctanoic acid, 3-octyl, methyl ester; Hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester; 6-Octadecenoic acid; Cis-Calamenene; 2-Pentadecanone, 6, 10, 14-trimethyl; 1, 2, 3, 4 Tetrahydroisoquinolin6-ol-1-carboxylic acid and Murolan-3, 9(11)-diene-10-peroxy. Essential oil (300 µg/disk) of T. foenum-graecum displayed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis IFO 3026, Sarcina lutea IFO 3232, Xanthomonas campestris IAM 1671, Proteus vulgaris MTCC 321 and Pseudomonas denitrificans KACC 32026 with their respective zones of inhibition of 6.5 ± 0 to 8 ± 1.7 mm and the essential oil (150 µl/disk) displayed far greater potential antibacterial activity compare to those extracts against all experimental bacteria with their respective zones of inhibition of 8 ± 0 to 15 ± 0.7 mm. Conclusion: This experiment showed a great potential of antibacterial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The results of this study counsel that T. foenum-graecum might have potential use as antibacterial agents.

CO2 capture and separation by ionic liquid is one of the fastest growing branches in ionic liquid technology. The aim of this research was to synthesize the ionic liquid polymer incorporating activated carbon and investigating its performance for CO2 capture and separation. The ionic liquid monomers 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide, [veim][Br] and 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl) imide, [veim][Tf2N] were first synthesized and then polymerized into ionic liquid polymers incorporating activated carbon. The purity of the [veim][Br] and [veim][Tf2N] was verified by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Ion Chromatography. Both monomers were proved to be in high purity. The elemental composition of both polymer materials synthesized were examined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and the morphology of the synthesized material was observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results revealed that activated carbon has been successfully incorporated into the lattice structure of polymer materials. The fabricated polymer materials would be expected to have higher CO2 capture capability as it combines both the absorption and adsorption mechanism for CO2 apprehension and sequestration.

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are naturally occurring organic acids present in crude oil and bitumen as contaminants. Their presence in the crude oil greatly reduces the quality and price of crude oil. NAs also causes corrosion in the production and processing facilities. They are quantified in the petroleum as Total acid number (TAN), which is the amount of KOH required to neutralize one gram of oil. In this study, the TAN of NAs was reduced by using subcritical methanol and then a mixture of 1-butyl-3methylimidazolium octyl sulfate ([BMIM] [C8HSO4]) and subcritical methanol. The experiments were conducted in an autoclave batch reactor at temperatures of 70-150°C, methanol partial pressures of 0.2-2.5MPa and reaction time of 0-120min. TAN value of the reaction was analyzed by ASTM D974 method. The experimental results demonstrate that high temperature and reaction time favors the TAN reduction. Approximately 24% TAN reduction was achieved by using only subcritical methanol at a temperature of 150°C, methanol partial pressure of 0.2MPa and reaction time of 30min. TAN was reduced to 32% by the addition of [BMIM] [C8HSO4] at the same conditions, indicating the capability of this IL to work under the subcritical methanol conditions. Maximum 56% TAN reduction was achieved at a temperature of 150°C, a reaction time of 120min using subcritical methanol. These results show that the subcritical methanol has the ability to lower the reaction time in an environmental-friendly and economical way. The presence of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octyl sulfate [BMIM] [C8HSO4] further help in lowering the TAN.

This study reports that ionic liquid mediated Elaeis. guineensis (oil palm) leaves extract can be used for reduction of gold precursor to obtain stable gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). E. guineensis leaf extract was prepared by using a mixture of distilled water and 2% aq. ionic liquid (1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) as solvents. UV-vis spectra of reaction medium showed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak (λ max ) at 539-557 nm confirm formation of gold nanoparticles. λ max was blue shifted toward 539 nm with increase in volume extract up to 0.60 ml while further addition of extract in the reaction medium resulted in red shifting of SPR band. Emim chloride functioned as a capping agent and results in synthesis of small size gold nanoparticles. TEM image analysis confirmed that average particles size of gold nanoparticles was 20.09±12.36 nm synthesized with an aqueous solution containing 2% Emim chloride as compared to average particle size of 39.60±13.63 nm when only distilled water was used as solvent for extraction of oil palm leaves. FTIR spectra analysis of the extracts identified presence of phenolic, carboxylic and amide groups that play important roles in reduction of gold precursor.

The pharmaceutical industries face a series of challenges in the delivery of many newly developed drug molecules because of their low solubility, bioavailability, stability and polymorphic conversion. These limitations are further exacerbated when drug molecules are insoluble or sparingly soluble in water and most pharmaceutically accepted organic solvents. To address these limitations, innovation is required in the pharmaceutical sciences for the formulation of drugs, solvents or systems for effective drug delivery. Fortunately, in the past few years, ionic liquids (ILs)—a novel class of environmentally benign and tailor-made solvents—have been increasingly exploited as solvents, co-solvents and/or materials in the fields of pharmaceutical drug delivery and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) formulation because of their unique and tunable physicochemical and biological properties. The use of ILs can markedly improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of drugs. To highlight the potential of ILs as a drug delivery/formulation tool, this review gives an overview of the application of ILs to address critical pharmaceutical challenges, including the low solubility, polymorphism and bioavailability of drugs. This review is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather to present the efforts made in using ILs in drug solubility, API formulation and drug delivery, including topical, transdermal and oral delivery, with particular emphasis on recent developments.

Cellulose –Earth’s most abundant biopolymer–represent an enormous carbon-neutral renewable resource of biomaterials and bioenergy. The dissolution of cellulose with environmentally friendly and efficient solvents/methods is an important and challenging for further chemical processing. In recent years, room temperature ionic liquids (ILs)- a attractive “green” and “designer” solvent-have emerged as a potentially attractive “green” solvent for dissolution of cellulose for further processing. In general, dissolution of cellulose in ILs via conventional heating system requires high temperature and long pretreatment time. This study reports the effect of pressure on the dissolution of cellulose in IL [C2mim][OAc] (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate). The effects of temperature and pressure on cellulose dissolution time were investigated using high Pressure Solubility Measurement System (HPSMS). It was found that as the pressure and temperature increased, the dissolution time decreased significantly. For comparison, the original microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and regenerated cellulose from ILs after dissolution were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results clearly revealed that the thermal stability of regenerated cellulose were reduced.

A primitive element for the development of sustainable pyrolysis processes is the study of thermal degradation kinetics of lignocellulosic waste materials for optimal energy conversion. The study presented here was conducted to predict and compare the optimal kinetic parameters for pyrolysis of various lignocellulosic biomass such as wood sawdust, bagasse, rice husk, etc., under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The pyrolysis was simulated over the temperature range of 500–2400 K for isothermal process and for heating rate range of 25–165 K/s under non-isothermal conditions to assess the maximum pyrolysis rate of virgin biomass in both cases. Results revealed that by increasing the temperature, the pyrolysis rate was enhanced. However, after a certain higher temperature, the pyrolysis rate was diminished which could be due to the destruction of the active sites of char. Conversely, a decrease in the optimum pyrolysis rate was noted with increasing reaction order of the virgin biomass. Although each lignocellulosic material attained its maximum pyrolysis rate at the optimum conditions of 1071 K and 31 K/s for isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, respectively, but under these conditions, only wood sawdust exhibited complete thermal utilization and achieved final concentrations of 0.000154 and 0.001238 under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions, respectively.