Green solvents for the dissolution and processing of biopolymers

Abstract

Dissolution and processing of biopolymers perhaps is one of the oldest chemical processes in the world, and there are several breakthrough inventions took place in this area. How- ever, with the advent of technological interventions, the number of improvements in the processing technologies of the bio- polymers has been made to address the efficiency and tech- noeconomics of the developed processes. Application of alternate solvent systems is one of the strategies being popularly used in many such cases. The search of alternative solvent systems to solubilise and process biopolymers is always challenging from sustainability point of view. Bio- polymers are conventionally solubilised in aqueous systems and processed using multistep tedious protocols. Ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents and bio-derived solvents are emerging as alternative solvents for biomass pretreatment and extraction of natural polymers from the resources. Application of bio- derived and green solvents in various industrial processes can be envisaged in near future, and hence, studies on such sol- vents to critically assess their potential towards industrial ap- plications should be performed. Considering these points, the present review article compiles various recent literature and reports pertaining to the sustainable processing of natural polymers using green solvents for practical applications.