Oxygen assisted organosolv process, system and method for delignification of lignocellulosic materials and lignin recovery

• Main Authors: MANESH MOHAMMAD ALI, GUENTHER JOHN H, BRAENNER WALTER, ZOBOROWSKI EDWIN G, HAWK LEE J, MANESH ALI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 05.07.2016
• Subjects: APPARATUS THEREFOR; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; COMPOUNDS OF UNKNOWN CONSTITUTION; DERIVATIVES OF NATURAL MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCESFROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; TEXTILES; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP

An oxygen assisted Organosolv process for a more efficient delignification and producing bio-products by decomposing lignocellulosic materials comprises providing a lignin solvent with water, an acid, an oxidant and one or more lignin dissolving chemicals. The process also includes placing biomass in contact with oxidant, acid, water, the lignin solvent in any order or combined to form a recyclable solvent, and recycling at least a portion of the recyclable solvent by circulating the recyclable solvent back into contact with the biomass. The circulating of the recyclable solvent occurs for a period of time, during which, acid and oxidant may be added if necessary as they may be consumed by the process, after which, the process then includes separating material such as chemicals and lignin from the recyclable solvent. The chemicals can be recycled as new lignin dissolving solvent or sold, while lignin can be used as natural and renewable colorant for polymers such as poly lactic acid, or mixed with other polymers as an additive and extruded or injected to consumable polymeric parts, or can be used and the natural source of renewable aromatics. Application of an oxidant will help the overall fractionation process by changing the chemical characteristics of the lignin and therefore allows more lignin to be removed from biomass. At the end, the lignin is separated from the lignin dissolving solvent by a separation process to also reclaim the lignin dissolving solvent for the next fractionation process.