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Microwave irradiation is proposed as a pretreatment method to accelerate the conventional steam distillation of rosemary essential oil. Microwave extraction methods are based on the capacity of radiation to break the oil-containing glands, allowing faster extraction rates. An analytical method is developed to quantify the fraction of essential oil inside and outside trichomes. This method is used to evaluate the effect of microwaves on the fraction of oil released outside of trichome glands. Steam distillation rates are measured after using different microwave pretreatment energies, and the influence of liquid moisture released from plant cells is also analyzed.

The effect of viscosity reduction caused by the solubilization of CO2 is studied in order to improve the biomass processing in ionic liquids. To do so, densities and viscosities of the pure ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and its mixtures with CO2 up molar fractions of 0.25 and temperatures between 333 and 372 K have been experimentally determined. Viscosities were correlated as a function of temperature and CO2 molar fractions with an average relative error of 2.5%. The viscosities of other mixtures CO2 + ionic liquids were also correlated for other ionic liquids with an average relative error between 4.4 and 13%. In general these ionic liquids present a linear decrease of viscosity with CO2 molar fractions up to around 0.5 that is more pronounced at lower temperatures and depends of each ionic liquid, and can reach between 60-100% viscosi-2 ty reduction with respect the viscosity of the pure ionic liquid, making the CO2 a promising co-solvent for viscosity reduction in process with ionic liquids.

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