Volume 8, Issue 1 1900949
Full Paper

Sequential Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Biomass Using CO2-Assisted Hydrolysis Combined with γ-Valerolactone Treatment

Qiaolong Zhai

Qiaolong Zhai

Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, 210042 China

Key and Open Laboratory on Forest Chemical Engineering,, SFA, Nanjing, 210042 China

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Chung-yun Hse

Chung-yun Hse

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Southern Research Station, Pineville, LA, 71360 USA

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Feng Long

Feng Long

Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, 210042 China

Key and Open Laboratory on Forest Chemical Engineering,, SFA, Nanjing, 210042 China

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Fei Wang

Fei Wang

Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, 210042 China

Key and Open Laboratory on Forest Chemical Engineering,, SFA, Nanjing, 210042 China

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Todd F. Shupe

Todd F. Shupe

Wood Science Consulting, LLC, Baton Rouge, LA, 70816 USA

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Junming Xu

Corresponding Author

Junming Xu

Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Jiangsu Province, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, 210042 China

Key and Open Laboratory on Forest Chemical Engineering,, SFA, Nanjing, 210042 China

Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210037 China

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First published: 17 October 2019
Citations: 5

Abstract

A biomass biorefinery strategy for the selective fractionation of poplar into its three main compositions (hemicellulose sugars, lignin, and high-purity cellulose) with a two-step process is developed. The first step consists of the selective hydrolysis of hemicellulose at mild conditions in a CO2/H2O system. This leads to various hemicellulose sugars and other intermediates in the water-soluble fraction, with more than 87.90% of the hemicellulose being extracted from the original poplar (180 °C, 2.0 MPa CO2, 10 min). The pretreated sample is subsequently used for extracting lignin in a γ-valerolactone (GVL)/H2O with acid catalysts for the next step. Meanwhile, four acid catalysts, including sulfuric acid and solid heteropoly acids (phosphomolybdic acid, silicotungstic acid, and phosphotungstic acid), are studied for the selective delignification in the GVL/H2O system, resulting in more than 91.35% of the original lignin being removed in the cellulose-rich substrates (140 °C, 30 mM silicotungstic acid, 3 h). Overall, the biorefinery approach fractions the poplar wood into three primary components: 1) various oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, and other intermediates derived from hemicellulose; 2) cellulose-rich substrate with a purity of cellulose as high as 90.76%, which has great potential as biochemicals or biomaterials; and 3) high-purity and proportion lignin recovered from biomass.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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