Structural elucidation of lignins from corncob acid hydrolysis residue by enzymatic mild acidolysis and deep eutectic solvent pretreatment

Achieving mild and efficient extraction of high purity lignin from corncob acid hydrolysis residue is essential for efficient lignin application. In this study, enzymatic/mild acidolysis lignin (EMAL) and deep eutectic solvent (DES)-lignin were extracted from corncob acid hydrolysis residue. The structural features of the two lignin fractions were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR). The highest DES-lignin yield of 58.8 wt% was achieved at 120 °C with a choline chloride-to-lactic acid (ChCl-to-Lac) molar ratio of 1:10 and a reaction time of 12 h. The FTIR analysis indicated a higher amount of guaiacyl units in EMAL than DES-lignin. Furthermore, condensation and fragmentation occurred simultaneously under DES pretreatment, but the fragmentation reaction was dominant. The structural characteristics investigated will allow for more effective lignin usage.

Recovering Scandium from Scandium Rough Concentrate Using Roasting-Hydrolysis-Leaching Process

In this study, a roasting-hydrolysis-acid leaching process is used to extract scandium from the scandium rough concentrate. The scandium rough concentrate containing Sc2O3 of 76.98 g/t was obtained by magnetic separation, gravity separation, and electric separation from Sc-bearing Vi-Ti magnetite tailings in the Panxi area of China. The majority of scandium in scandium rough concentrate mainly occurs in diopside, titanopyroxene, montmorillonite, chlorite, talc, aluminosilicate minerals, and isomorphism. Sodium salt and scandium coarse concentrate are added into the roasting furnace for roasting, which makes the fusion reaction of silicon, aluminum and sodium salt to produce soluble salts such as sodium silicate and sodium metaaluminate. Scandium is further recovered from the hydrolysis residue by acid leaching. Test results show scandium leaching recovery of 95.12% and the acid leaching residue with Sc2O3 content of 8.12 g/t are obtained, while the extraction of scandium is obvious. There is no obvious peak value of Scandium spectrum in hydrochloric acid leach residue. Most of scandium in hydrolytic residue is dissolved into Sc3+ and enters into the liquid phase. The main minerals in leach residue are perovskite, ferric silicate, and olivine.

Hydro-Pyrolysis and Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass and Its Hydroxy Residue Fast Pyrolysis Vapors

Fast pyrolysis of Miscanthus, its hydrolysis residue and lignin were carried with a pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) followed by online vapor catalytic upgrading with sulfated ZrO2, sulfated TiO2 and sulfated 60 wt.% ZrO2-TiO2. The most evident influence of the catalyst on the vapor phase composition was observed for aromatic hydrocarbons, light phenols and heavy phenols. A larger amount of light phenols was detected, especially when 60 wt.% ZrO2-TiO2 was present. Thus, a lower average molecular weight and lower viscosity of bio-oil could be obtained with this catalyst. Pyrolysis was also performed at different pressures of hydrogen. The pressure of H2 has a great effect on the overall yield and the composition of biomass vapors. The peak area percentages of both aromatic hydrocarbons and cyclo-alkanes are enhanced with the increasing of H2 pressure. The overall yields are higher with the addition of either H2 or sulfated catalysts. This is beneficial as phenols are valuable chemicals, thus, increasing the value of bio-oil. The results show that the hydrolysis residue has the potential to become a resource for phenol production.