Determination of Lignocellulosic Components in Traditional Chinese Herb Residues and Its Sugar-Producing Application

Traditional Chinese Herb Residues (TCHRs) contain a large number of lignocellulosic components, such as glucan (cellulose/starch), hemicellulose, and lignin, which can be fully utilized to avoid resource wasting and environmental pollution. Herein, we chose 40 typical TCHRs to measure their lignocellulosic contents and degraded the TCHRs containing high dextran components to prepare glucose or anhydro-sugars. The average lignocellulosic content of 40 typical TCHRs was 71.48 ± 13.30% and 25 TCHRs’ lignocellulosic contents were more than 70%. Based on the lignocellulosic content and ratio of total structural carbohydrates to lignin content, 40 typical TCHRs can be divided into four categories for sugar-producing, bio-char forming, composting, and incineration. 11 TCHRs were screened for glucose preparation by enzymolysis or acidolysis, and anhydro-sugars preparation in polar aprotic solvents. The average yield of glucose from 7 starch-rich TCHRs was 87.3% by enzymolysis, and the average yield of glucose from 4 cellulose-rich TCHRs was 58.0% by acidolysis. The total carbon yield of anhydro-sugars from 7 TCHRs was over 60%. These results and classification principles have instructive significance for discharging and utilizing TCHRs. Graphical Abstract