Sustainable Process for the Depolymerization/Oxidation of Softwood and Hardwood Kraft Lignins Using Hydrogen Peroxide under Ambient Conditions.

The present study demonstrated a sustainable and cost-effective approach to depolymerize/oxidize softwood (SW) and hardwood (HW) kraft lignins using concentrated hydrogen peroxide at temperatures ranging from 25 to 35 °C, in the absence of catalysts or organic solvents. The degree of lignin depolymerization could be simply controlled by reaction time, and no further separation process was needed at the completion of the treatment. The obtained depolymerized lignin products were comprehensively characterized by GPC-UV, FTIR, P-NMR, TGA, Py-GC/MS and elemental analysis.

Improved pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass using enzymatically-generated peracetic acid.

Release of sugars from lignocellulosic biomass is inefficient because lignin, an aromatic polymer, blocks access of enzymes to the sugar polymers. Pretreatments remove lignin and disrupt its structure, thereby enhancing sugar release. In previous work, enzymatically generated peracetic acid was used to pretreat aspen wood.

Process modeling and analysis of pulp mill-based integrated biorefinery with hemicellulose pre-extraction for ethanol production: a comparative study.

Pulp and paper mills represent a major platform to use more effectively an abundant, renewable bio-resource - wood. Modification of the modern day pulp mills into integrated forest biorefineries (IFBR) presents an excellent opportunity to produce, in addition to valuable cellulose fiber, co-products including fuel grade ethanol and additional energy, thus resulting in increased revenue streams and profitability and potentially lower the greenhouse gas emissions. A process model to simulate the integrate forest biorefinery manufacturing pulp and other co-products has been developed.