What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to enhance fructose and sorbitol production from sugarcane bagasse using catalytic transfer hydrogenation in ionic liquid media.

February 21, 2026Open Access

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of sugarcane bagasse in ionic liquid and alcohol media for enhanced fructose and sorbitol production

Key Points

The study aims to enhance fructose and sorbitol production from sugarcane bagasse using catalytic transfer hydrogenation in ionic liquid media.
Employed catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) process for biomass transformation.
Used ionic liquids ([1-Allyl-3-mim][Cl] and [1-Allyl-3-mim][HSO4]) as solvents and catalysts.
Optimized various operating conditions using response surface methodology with Box-Behnken design.
Measured fructose and sorbitol yields from glucose and sugarcane bagasse under different conditions.
Achieved 33.27% fructose and 61.08% sorbitol with 97.6% glucose conversion using [HSO4]-based ionic liquid.
The Cl-based ionic liquid produced 28.6% fructose and 32.23% sorbitol at 99.56% glucose conversion.
Under optimal conditions, yields reached 44.12% fructose and 46.17% sorbitol from sugarcane bagasse.

Abstract

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) process and ionic liquids (ILs) are common methods for biomass transformation used to produce biochemicals from lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). This study employed an IL combined with a CTH process to valorize and transform sugarcane bagasse (SCB), aiming to co-produce fructose and sorbitol. This was achieved using a Paar reactor under various operating conditions optimized by a response surface methodology (RSM) using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). The two ILs, 1-Allyl-3-mimCl and 1-Allyl-3-mimHSO4, were tested for their catalytic potential in a CTH process using pure glucose and fructose in an alcohol medium. The HSO4-based catalyst showed higher activity than the Cl-based catalyst, stemming from its dual functionality namely efficient solvent and catalyst that can initiate the hydrolysis step. Specifically, 33.27% fructose and 61.08% sorbitol were obtained with 97.6% glucose conversion in 1,4-butanediol, while the Cl-based catalyst in 1,4-butanediol produced 28.6% fructose and 32.23% sorbitol at 99.56% glucose conversion. The HSO4-based ionic liquid (IL) was chosen for further optimization using SCB as the feedstock, and the results demonstrated how parameters (time, temperature, stock, and catalyst loading) affected yields of fructose and sorbitol, reaching 44.12% and 46.17%, respectively, under optimal conditions with 1-Allyl-3-mimHSO4 + 1,4-butanediol system. The impact of these operating parameters, and the alcohol medium used were clear, as shown by the differences in yields when using SCB versus pure glucose, which can be attributed to the recalcitrant nature of SCB (comprising lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose) which often influences the yields especially when the biomass is not pretreated. Overall, the production of both sorbitol and fructose from glucose strongly supports the potential of using SCB which contains convertible glucose units as a green feedstock for biochemical production.

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