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Alkaline cupric oxide and nitrobenzene oxidation of alcell® lignin
Author(s) -
Hepditch Mona M.,
Thring Ronald K
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450750614
Subject(s) - nitrobenzene , syringaldehyde , lignin , vanillin , chemistry , catalysis , solvolysis , organic chemistry , yield (engineering) , oxide , kraft paper , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , hydrolysis , materials science , metallurgy , engineering
A solvolysis lignin has been oxidatively degraded using nitrobenzene and cupric oxide (CuO) as catalysts. The effects of reaction conditions on lignin conversion to identifiable low molecular weight liquid products were quantified. Optimal yields of vanillin and syringaldehyde of 2.2 wt % and 5.9 wt % respectively were obtained using nitrobenzene at 180°C and 2h, whereas both were less than 1 wt % when CuO was used at 225°C and 1h, indicative of the milder oxidative power of CuO for this lignin. The higher total aldehyde yield from solvolysis lignin (8.2 wt %) than kraft lignin (5.1 wt %) when using nitrobenzene indicates it might be a better candidate for producing chemicals via oxidation.