Simultaneous production of glucose, furfural, and ethanol organosolv lignin for total utilization of high recalcitrant biomass by organosolv pretreatment

Abstract The main purpose of this study was simultaneous production of glucose, ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL), and furfural for total utilization of lignocellulosic biomass to improve economics of biorefinery. The glucose production (37.1 g, under conditions of 160 °C with 1% sulfuric acid) was significantly increased after organosolv pretreatment, dissolving 11.4 g of the initial hemicellulose-derived sugars and 22.6 g of the initial lignin. Progressively, organosolv lignin precipitation and furfural production processes were conducted using the liquid hydrolysates obtained after organosolv pretreatment. 12 g of EOL (at 160 °C, 1% sulfuric acid) was yielded with the remaining residues of soluble lignin-derived compounds in the liquid hydrolysates. Also, 7.9 g of furfural (at 160 °C, 1% sulfuric acid) was observed after additional acid-catalyzed treatment from the liquid hydrolysates. Consequently, a high yield of glucose, EOL and furfural can be obtained simultaneously using ethanol organosolv pretreatment.