Compressed-Gas Lignin Oil Extraction With Acid-Assisted Delignification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lignin extraction processes, such as organosolv pulping, result in recalcitrant solid lignin with high molecular weight and poor solubility due to condensation reactions, leading to unreactive lignin for higher value products and high capital expenditure (CAPEX) due to diluted biomass-to-solvent ratios.
Innovation Solution
A process using a compressed gas and inorganic acid to treat lignocellulosic feedstock with a polar organic solvent at elevated temperatures and pressures, achieving high delignification rates at high biomass-to-solvent ratios, producing a crude liquid lignin oil (CLO) with low molecular weight and improved processability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional organosolv pulping processes are used to extract lignin, then lignin can be obtained, but the lignin becomes recalcitrant solid material with high molecular weight and poor solubility due to condensation reactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using a compressed gas (supercritical or near-critical conditions) as the extraction medium instead of conventional organic solvents, and by controlling temperature and pressure parameters to prevent condensation reactions. This results in lignin being extracted as low molecular weight oligomers with improved solubility while maintaining extraction efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a compressed gas (such as carbon dioxide or other gases) as an intermediary extraction medium that facilitates lignin dissolution without causing condensation reactions. The gas acts as a mediator between the lignocellulosic material and the extraction process, enabling controlled dissolution and preventing harmful polymerization
2Quantity of substance
If diluted biomass-to-solvent ratios are used in conventional processes, then complete extraction can be achieved, but capital expenditure increases due to larger equipment size and lower productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of the extraction medium by using compressed gas at elevated temperatures and pressures. This enables the use of higher biomass-to-solvent ratios because the supercritical or near-critical gas phase provides enhanced solvation power, maintaining extraction completeness while improving productivity and reducing CAPEX
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic conditions by using compressed gas that can be easily adjusted in pressure and temperature. This allows optimization of the extraction process for different biomass loadings, enabling flexible operation at higher productivity levels without sacrificing extraction completeness
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process yields a crude liquid lignin oil with high delignification rates, reduced downstream processing, and lower CAPEX by maintaining the solvent in a liquid phase, facilitating efficient lignin extraction and dissolution.
Implementation Method 1
treating the lignocellulosic feedstock with a polar organic solvent in the presence of an inorganic acid and added gas to provide a crude liquid lignin oil (CLO)... at an operating pressure lower than 200 bar and at least 1 bar above the vapour pressure of the polar organic solvent at the operating temperature
Implementation Method 2
Acids such us sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, formic acid and acetic acid are being used as co-catalysts, cleaving the lignin-carbohydrate linkages, releasing lignin from the lignocellulosic matrix
Implementation Method 3
treating the lignocellulosic feedstock with a polar organic solvent... to provide a crude liquid lignin oil (CLO)... producing a crude liquid lignin oil with high delignification rates
Data Source
AI summary
A process for the production of a liquid lignin composition, in particular to a method for obtaining a lignin composition using a compressed gas and acid assisted process, wherein a lignocellulosic biomass feedstock is treated with a polar organic solvent using an inorganic acid to assist in the release of lignin into the polar organic solvent and the use of compressed gas to keep the polar organic solvent in its liquid phase.