Biomass fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass by organic solvents facilitates the production of chemicals, fuels, nanocellulose, and pulp. This fractionation typically involves the production of both a carbohydrate stream and a lignin stream. The utilization of both streams is crucial for the economic viability of either stream. Although crucial know-how is invested in downstream processing steps towards value-added lignin-derived products, the quality and efficiency of the upstream fractionation steps are tightly connected to the overall feasibility of the process from lignin to chemicals. We will describe how organic solvent fractionation impacts the lignin and carbohydrate streams. Specifically, we compare the fractionation conditions, the effect on cellulose accessibility, and the degree of delignification over a wide range of organic solvents. For cellulose accessibility, we describe the use of Direct Yellow 11 as a novel probe of cellulosic accessibility after biomass treatment. We also will comment on the quality of resulting lignin and the recovery of the extracted lignin. We pair the degree of delignification with our vision for lignin valorization. From collaborations with the Lignin Group at Georgia Tech, we will sketch catalytic routes to take fractionated lignin to phenol and metabolic pathways from phenol to adipic acid. We determine the techno-economic impact of this lignin valorization route to a typical biorefinery and a typical pulp-mill. Additionally, we describe the future use of organic solvents in both cellulosic ethanol and next-generation pulping.

Examining the impact of biomass fractionation on the production of lignin-derived material

254th National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.