In the context of the global focus on sustainable resources and energy development, the efficient use of biomass resources has become increasingly important, and energy efficiency and environmentally friendly and efficient refining strategies remain a challenge. Recently, Professor Yu Haipeng’s research team from the school of materials science and engineering (Biomaterials Science and Technology Ministry of Education Key Laboratory) employed a new microwave-assisted eutectic solvent strategy to achieve an ultra-fast cracking and component separation of the wood resource structure. This finding and the related research results were published in the “ChemSusChem”journal.
（http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201601795）.
According to Liu Yongzhuang, the first author of the paper and an NEFU 2015 doctoral student, this study explores a low melting point green solvent synthesized from choline chloride and hydrated oxalic acid with sustainable resources. It has the advantages of rich raw materials, simple synthesis method, low cost, non-toxic, low vapor pressure, no danger of flash explosion, and other technical applications. The solvent has the dual characteristics of ionic liquid and organic solvent. Its hydrogen bond acidity is 1.31, and polarization index is 1.07, which has strong proton competitive ability and elimination effect on the lignin-carbohydrate complex. The efficient dissolution of lignin and hemicellulose can be achieved without the addition of a catalyst after only 3 minutes of treatment with the solvent at 80°C and 800W of microwave irradiation. The cellulose is easily separated as an insoluble product during the process, and the nanocellulose or cellulose-based chemicals can be further prepared. The isolated lignin oligomers have the characteristics of low molecular weight, low dispersion coefficient and high purity, showing the potential for further processing and utilization. The solution also separates the relatively high levels of glucose, xylose and hydroxymethylfurfural. The treated solvent is easy to recover and can be used again. As a result, this work provides a green and ultra-fast refining biomass strategy that helps to improve the overall utilization of biomass resources.
The research work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province and the “Ten Thousand Talent Program”.
