Lan Chen,Zhanming Liang,Xiaoxuan Zhang,Liming Zhang,Shuangfei Wang,Changzhou Chen,Ling Zeng,Douyong Min
Lignin is the most naturally abundant source of aromatics for phenolic chemicals, bioenergy sources, and functional materials. Recent works are devoted to the acid-catalyzed organosolv extraction for improving the lignin valorization. However, β –aryl ethers are mostly cleaved to form carbon–carbon bonds under the acidic condition. In this work, lignin isolated with methanolic hydrochloric acid (MHL) was compared with conventional milled wood lignin (MWL). The methanol incorporated into lignin as α –OCH 3 to prevent the cleavage of β –aryl ethers. As a result, the yield of MHL was over 12 times that of MWL. The MHL appeared a regular granular structure with an average diameter of 100 nm. Analysis of 13 C– 1 H HSQC NMR spectra showed that MHL contained 42.6 % β –O–4 linkages whereas 35.9 % for the MWL, as well as 6.5 % β –5 and 3.2 % β – β , which was less than MWL. Moreover, 13 C NMR spectroscopy confirmed that MHL was mainly isolated by the cleavage of the associated carbohydrates rather than the degradation of β –aryl ether bonds. Therefore, MHL can be utilized more as a native lignin representative than MWL for studying the physicochemical properties and the interior structures of the protolignin.
Guangcong Wan,Qingtong Zhang,Mingfu Li,Zhuan Jia,Chenyan Guo,Bin Luo,Shuangfei Wang,Douyong Min
Pseudo-lignin is generated from lignocellulose biomass during pretreatment with dilute sulfuric acid and has a significant inhibitory effect on cellulase. However, the mechanism of pseudo-lignin generation remains unclear. The following main points have been addressed to help elucidate the pseudo-lignin generation pathway. Cellulose and xylan were pretreated with sulfuric acid at different concentrations; aliquots were periodically collected; and the changes in the byproducts of the prehydrolysate were quantified. Milled wood lignin (MWL) mixed with cellulose and xylan was pretreated to evaluate the impact of lignin on pseudo-lignin generation. Furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and MWL were pretreated as model compounds to investigate pseudo-lignin generation. The result indicated that the increasing acid concentration significantly promoted the generation of pseudo-lignin. When the acid concentration was increased from 0 to 1.00 wt %, pseudo-lignin was increased from 1.36 to 4.05 g. In addition, lignin promoted the pseudo-lignin generation through the condensation between lignin and the generated intermediates.