Cationic effect in high concentration alcohol organosolv pulping: The next generation biorefinery

Abstract

Catalyst employment in cooking liquor of 80% aqueous methanol is required for fiber liberation at high yield (50%) and has a remarkable impact on pulp production capability in the alcohol organosolv pulping of spruce wood. In alcohol solution without a suitable catalyst, the softwood fibers cannot be effectively liberated from the wood matrix. The effectiveness of the catalysts tested in this research varied widely. Divalent metal ions were found to be very effective, whereas monovalent cations were incapable of fiber liberation and trivalent cations were found to be too aggressive and hydrolyzed the carbohydrates, causing extensive damage to the fibers. Under the specified pulping conditions, the divalent metal ion catalyzed alcohol organosolv pulping process was capable of producing 60–61% screened pulp. Successful chemical pulp production by the NAEM (Neutral Alkali Earth Metal) catalyzed organosolv pulping process opens access to biorefining and provides value recovery both from the pulp and also from the dissolved wood components from the spent pulping liquor.

Catalytic organosolv fractionation of willow wood and wheat straw as pretreatment for enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis

“…HCl was used as alternative acid, since it has been reported to be effective in methanol, ethanol, and acetic acid‐based (Acetosolv) organosolv pulping 3. Finally, MgCl 2 was selected as a non‐acid catalyst based on work by Yawalata and Paszner 22, 23. They reported MgCl 2 to be the optimum catalyst in an extensive study on the catalytic effect of various salts on methanol‐based organosolv pulping of spruce wood for paper applications (neutral alkali earth metal (NAEM) process) 22, 23.…”

“…Moreover, these studies are mainly limited to organosolv treatment of softwoods. For example, Yawalata and Paszner studied the effect of different chlorine salts,23 magnesium salts,22 and acid catalysts22 on methanol‐based organosolv pulping of spruce. They obtained optimum results with MgCl 2 .…”

Lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels and biochemicals: A comprehensive review with a focus on ethanol organosolv pretreatment technology

“…Magnesium chloride is another important inorganic salt used in the ethanol organosolv pretreatment. Previous studies have shown that organosolv pulping using magnesium chloride as a catalyst resulted in comparable delignification and partial preservation of hemicellulose when compared with that using sulfuric acid as a catalyst (Yawalata & Paszner, , ). Huijgen et al () found that ethanol pretreatment for willow wood using magnesium chloride could yield similar enzymatic glucose yields of about 85% to the acid catalysts, while retaining more xylan in the pulp.…”

Dry Kraft Pulping at Ambient Pressure for Cost Effective Energy Saving and Pollution Deduction

“…A sodium carbonate solution of a concentration 65 to 120 g/L as Na 2 O at a liquor to wood ratio of 1.2-2.5 was used. Yawalata and Paszner [40] disclosed a solvent pulping method using aqueous solution of a lower aliphatic alcohol in a plurality of batch extraction vessels at a temperature between 160 to 220℃. A multi-stage extraction was used.…”