Surfactant-assisted ionic liquid fractionation of spruce produces a low molar weight and less condensed lignin
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Artime, Isabel Fernandez
Al Ghatta, Amir
Ouitrakoon, Phuthiphong
Damilano, Giacomo
Brandt-Talbot, Agnieszka
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Surfactant-assisted ionoSolv fractionation of spruce sawdust was investigated with the aim of improving the fractionation performance and the quality of the recovered fractions. Anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) were added to ionic liquid (IL) water mixtures of N,N-dimethylbutylammonium hydrogen sulphate ([DMBA][HSO4]) containing 20–50 wt% water to process spruce sawdust at 150 and 170 °C for 30–60 min. 1H NMR spectroscopy established that the processing conditions partly hydrolysed SDS whilst leaving LAS untouched. The use of LAS surfactant decreased the fractionation time but did not encourage the use of a higher water content. IonoSolv fractionation employing 2–10 wt% LAS and 20 wt% water resulted in faster delignification, decreasing the reaction time by 50 % at 150 ºC, with small improvements in cellulose recovery (87.6 % with 2 wt% LAS vs 83.7 % without LAS at 150 ºC). Post-treatment lignin analysis showed that the lignin structure was less condensed when LAS was present during the fractionation. Addition of surfactant had a lightening effect on the colour of the recovered lignin fractions, which is a key feature for its use in applications such as coatings, cosmetics or sunscreen additives. A proportion of LAS surfactant precipitated with the lignin fraction and was found to be mainly physically associated to lignin, although traces of condensed lignin-LAS were also detected. Whilst the extent to which surfactants may assist ionoSolv fractionation was limited, the study highlights the importance of characterising both lignin and cellulose chemical compositions.
Date Issued
2025-11-01
Date Acceptance
2025-09-01
Citation
Industrial Crops and Products, 2025, 235
ISSN
0926-6690
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Industrial Crops and Products
Volume
235
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121815
Subjects
ACID
Agricultural Engineering
Agriculture
Agronomy
Biomass
BIOMASS
CELLULOSE
Celulose pulp
Colour analysis
DELIGNIFICATION
HYDROLYSIS
IMPACT
Ionic liquids
IonoSolv fractionation
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate
N-dimethylbutylammonium hydrogen sulfate
PRETREATMENT
Science & Technology
SODIUM DODECYL-SULFATE
SOFTWOOD
STRUCTURAL-CHANGES
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
121815
Date Publish Online
2025-09-03