Deep Eutectic Solvents: A New Tool For Waste Biomass Fractionation And Valorization

In the present work, two abundant agrifood waste biomasses, brewers' spent grain and rice husk, were fractionated in order to obtain a complete valorization. In particular, the whole process was divided in two main parts. A first pretreatment with hot water in an autoclave was performed allowing the separation of a solution containing proteins and sugars, that were employed for the preparation of a growing medium for di erent microbial fermentations. The solid water-insoluble residue was then submitted to a lignocellulose deep eutectic solvent-mediated fractionation, which allowed the recovery of two important main fractions: cellulose and lignin. The latter product was tested as potential precursor for the development of cement water reducers with encouraging results. This combination of treatments of the waste biomass appeared to be a promising sustainable strategy for the development of the full exploitation of BSG from a circular economy perspective.