Novel recyclable deep eutectic solvent boost biomass pretreatment for enzymatic hydrolysis

[Display omitted] •Novel DES by coordinating FeCl3 in choline chloride (ChCl)/glycerol DES.•DES with FeCl3 approvingly retained most of cellulose in pretreated Hybrid Pennisetum.•Hemicelluloses and lignin were effectively removed during the proposed pretreatment.•The excellent pretreatment performance keeps almost unchanged after recycling process. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) with protonic acid shows the great potential for biomass valorization. However, the acid corrosion and recycling are still severe challenges in biorefinery. Herein, a novel DES by coordinating FeCl3 in choline chloride/glycerol DES was designed for effective and recyclable pretreatment. As compared to DESs with FeCl2, ZnCl2, AlCl3 and CuCl2, DES with FeCl3 approvingly retained most of cellulose in pretreated Hybrid Pennisetum (95.2%). Meanwhile, the cellulose saccharification significantly increased to 99.5%, which was six-fold higher than that of raw biomass. The excellent pretreatment performance was mainly attributed to the high removal of lignin (78.88 wt%) and hemicelluloses (93.63 wt%) under the synergistic effect of Lewis acid and proper hydrogen-bond interaction of DES with FeCl3. Furthermore, almost all cellulose still can be converted into glucose after five recycling process. Overall, the process demonstrated designed pretreatment was great potential for the low-cost biorefinery and boost the biofuel development.