Green solvents-based molecular weight controllable fractionation process for industrial alkali lignin at room temperature

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules Vol. 207; pp. 531 - 540
• Main Authors: Jin, Huiqi, Shi, Haiqiang, Jia, Wenchao, Sun, Yanning, Sheng, Xueru, Guo, Yanzhu, Li, Haiming, Sun, Haidong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15-05-2022
• Subjects: Fractionation; Green solvent; Industrial lignin; Molecular weight; γ-Valerolactone; Fractionation; Industrial lignin; Green solvent; Molecular weight; γ-Valerolactone
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.03.049

The molecular weight is one of the most important factors influencing the utilization of industrial lignin obtained from chemical pulping process. In this paper, a facile operative green solvent system was successfully developed for molecular weight-controllable fractionation of industrial alkali lignin (IAL) at room temperature. The results showed that through adjusting the ratio of water, ethanol and γ-Valerolactone (GVL), the industrial lignin was fractionated into six levels with molecular weight stepwise controllable from low to high. The fractionation is a physical process according to FTIR and 2D-HSQC NMR analysis, and the chemical structure of lignin has not changed. Additionally, the polydispersity of fractionated lignin with higher molecular weight tends to be narrower. The content of hydroxyl and carboxyl group is higher for the fractionated lignin with lower molecular weight, which would be beneficial for the chemical reactivity in the down-stream application.
•The molecular weight controlled fractionation of industrial lignin was successfully carried out.•Effective green solvent was developed for lignin fractionation at mild condition.•The fractionation is physical process of chemical structure of lignin preserved well.•The change of the functional groups in each fractionated lignin was studied.