Integrated process for the co-production of bioethanol, furfural, and lignin nanoparticles from birch wood via acid hydrotropic fractionation

Junjun Zhu, Ningxin Jiao, Jinlan Cheng, Han Zhang, Guangliu Xu, Yong Xu and J.Y. Zhu

Renewable Energy, 2023, vol. 204, issue C, 176-184

Abstract: This study proposes an efficient biorefining strategy for co-producing of bioethanol, furfural, and lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) from birch wood based on acid hydrotropic fractionation. Birch was fractionated into glucan-rich washed water-insoluble solids (WIS) fraction and xylose-rich spent liquor (SL) fraction with a low p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) concentration of 15% (w/v). The obtained WIS was utilized to produce 75.5 g/L ethanol (76.3% ethanol yield based on initial sugars in the enzymatic hydrolysate) through separate hydrolysis and fermentation. Meanwhile, the xylose-rich SL was concentrated and catalyzed by dehydration to produce furfural with tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a co-solvent. The furfural concentration of 27.3 g/L (78.2% theoretical yield) was achieved from the 3-fold concentrated SL (without lignin precipitation) with a 3:1 THF-SL ratio at 160 °C for 7 min. The enzymatic hydrolysis solid residue of WIS was further fractionated by p-TsOH to prepare LNPs with an average particle size of 37.4 nm. The mass balance showed that 6.5 t oven-dry birch wood produced 1.0 t ethanol, 0.61 t furfural and 0.63 t LNPs.

Keywords: Birch; p-Toluenesulfonic acid; Fractionation; Ethanol; Furfural; Lignin nanoparticles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:204:y:2023:i:c:p:176-184

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.12.111

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