Liquefaction of poplar biomass for value-added platform chemicals

Abstract

This study shows that two groups of value-added platform chemicals, namely glucosides and phenolic compounds, can be obtained from the liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass. The liquefaction of biomass was conducted in a methanol medium with H2SO4 as a catalyst at 120–220 °C. The effects of liquefaction temperature on the yield and distribution of the liquefied product and the change in liquefied residue were investigated. The maximum liquefaction rate was 91.13% at 220 °C based on the whole feedstock. The target products were glucosides and phenolic compounds, which were derived from the liquefaction of carbohydrates and lignin part in poplar biomass respectively, and could be effectively separated after liquefaction. The yields of glucosides and phenolic compounds reached 48.83 and 25.96% at 200 °C respectively. The glucosides mainly contained pentose and hexose glucosides with high a purity of 91.67% at 200 °C. The phenolic products were separated into four fractions with different molecular weight distributions. Overall, it achieved the simultaneous transformation of carbohydrates and lignin fractions in biomass into high value-added chemicals.