The invention relates to a
lignin demethylation method based on nucleophilic activation reinforcement, and belongs to the technical field of
biomass high-value utilization. The core of the method is to construct a composite catalytic
system composed of
sodium sulfite and a nucleophilic activation auxiliary agent. The nucleophilic
attack ability and efficiency of
sulfite ions on methoxyl groups in
lignin macromolecules are remarkably enhanced by introducing small molecular additives such as
urea,
guanidine hydrochloride,
betaine or
glycine and utilizing the weak coordination effect of the small molecular additives with
sodium ions and the
hydrogen bond activation synergistic effect on the
sulfite ions. According to the method, the reaction is carried out by taking the
mixed solution of the
sodium hydroxide aqueous solution and the organic
alcohol as a medium under the mild conditions of 80-160 DEG C and normal pressure, the
process operation is simple, and the
raw material cost is low. The methyl removal rate of the finally obtained demethylated
lignin is as high as 71-94%, the phenolic hydroxyl group content is increased to 33-87%, the condensation
side reaction is effectively inhibited, the reaction activity is remarkably enhanced, and the demethylated lignin can be used as a high-quality substitute of
phenol for preparing phenolic resin,
polyurethane and other
high polymer materials. The method successfully overcomes the defects of low efficiency, heavy
pollution and high cost of the traditional
demethylation method, and provides a green, efficient and easy-to-industrialize new path for high-value utilization of lignin.