Open AccessOxidative Catalytic Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Biomass under Non-alkaline Conditions
Author(s) -
Haiyun Luo,
Eric P Weeda,
Manar Alherech,
Colin W. Anson,
Steven D. Karlen,
Yanbin Cui,
Cliff E. Foster,
Shan S. Stahl
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of the american chemical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.115
H-Index - 612
eISSN - 1520-5126
pISSN - 0002-7863
DOI - 10.1021/jacs.1c08635
Subject(s) - chemistry , syringaldehyde , vanillic acid , vanillin , lignin , fractionation , organic chemistry , catalysis , lignocellulosic biomass , guaiacol , syringic acid , cellulose , biorefinery , raw material , gallic acid , antioxidant
Biomass pretreatment methods are commonly used to isolate carbohydrates from biomass, but they often lead to modification, degradation, and/or low yields of lignin. Catalytic fractionation approaches provide a possible solution to these challenges by separating the polymeric sugar and lignin fractions in the presence of a catalyst that promotes cleavage of the lignin into aromatic monomers. Here, we demonstrate an oxidative fractionation method conducted in the presence of a heterogeneous non-precious-metal Co-N-C catalyst and O 2 in acetone as the solvent. The process affords a 15 wt% yield of phenolic products bearing aldehydes (vanillin, syringaldehyde) and carboxylic acids ( p -hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid), complementing the alkylated phenols obtained from existing reductive catalytic fractionation methods. The oxygenated aromatics derived from this process have appealing features for use in polymer synthesis and/or biological funneling to value-added products, and the non-alkaline conditions associated with this process support preservation of the cellulose, which remains insoluble at reaction conditions and is recovered as a solid.