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Fractionation of birch wood biomass into valuable chemicals by the extraction and catalytic processes

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Abstract

For the first time, the process of extraction fractionation of “hemicelluloses-free” birch wood in an ethanol medium into cellulose product and ethanol lignin is studied and optimized. The composition and structure of cellulose product and ethanol lignin obtained by extraction fractionation of “hemicellulose-free” birch wood and other products of their subsequent transformations are characterized by methods of infra-red spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, BET surface area analysis, high-performance liquid chromatography, gel permeation chromatography, gas chromatography, and chemical and elemental analysis. The possibility of producing enterosorbents from birch ethanol lignin that are more effective than the commercial enterosorbents “Polyphepan” based on hydrolyzed lignin is established. A new approach to the biorefinery of birch wood into xylose, levulinic acid and enterosorbents is proposed based on the integration of an optimized process of extraction fractionation of “hemicellulose-free” birch wood in ethanol medium, alkaline isolation of xylan and its hydrolysis to xylose, cellulose product conversion into levulinic acid and ethanol lignin processing to enterosorbents.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out with the use of the equipment of Krasnoyarsk Regional Center of Research Equipment of the Federal Research Centre “Krasnoyarsk Science Centre SB RAS”.

Funding

The reported study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 21–13-00250 https://rscf.ru/project/21-13-00250/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology SB RAS, FRC KSC SB RAS, Akademgorodok 50, bld. 24, Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia

    Boris N. Kuznetsov, Irina G. Sudakova, Anna I. Chudina, Natalya V. Garyntseva, Alexander S. Kazachenko, Andrey M. Skripnikov, Yuriy N. Malyar & Ivan P. Ivanov

  2. Siberian Federal University, pr. Svobodny 79, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia

    Boris N. Kuznetsov, Alexander S. Kazachenko, Andrey M. Skripnikov & Yuriy N. Malyar

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  1. Boris N. Kuznetsov
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  2. Irina G. Sudakova
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  3. Anna I. Chudina
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  4. Natalya V. Garyntseva
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  5. Alexander S. Kazachenko
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Correspondence to Boris N. Kuznetsov.

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Kuznetsov, B.N., Sudakova, I.G., Chudina, A.I. et al. Fractionation of birch wood biomass into valuable chemicals by the extraction and catalytic processes. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 14, 2341–2355 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02498-x

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