Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology

K. Servaes; Antero Varhimo; M. Dubreuil; M. Bulut; P. Vandezande; Matti Siika-aho; Jari Sirviö; Kristiina Kruus; W. Porto-Carrero; M. Bongers

doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology

K. Servaes^*
, Antero Varhimo
, M. Dubreuil
, M. Bulut
, P. Vandezande
, Matti Siika-aho
, Jari Sirviö
, Kristiina Kruus
, W. Porto-Carrero
, M. Bongers

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Lignocellulosic plant biomass is a renewable and abundant source for the production of bio-based fuels, chemicals and chemical building blocks. Efficient fractionation and conversion of these feedstocks are an essential step in the valorization of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions. The use of a new two-stage alkaline oxidation (AlkOx) process has been investigated for the pretreatment of softwood in presence of sodium carbonate.Within this study, the use of commercial polymeric and ceramic ultrafiltration membranes for the purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the AlkOx process has been evaluated enabling further valorization thereof. Higher permeation fluxes were observed, ranging from 30 to 139L/m2 h, depending on the hydrophilicity, pore size and structure/chemistry of the membrane. High lignin retentions have been obtained for all membranes. Diafiltration of the spent liquor using the ESP04 membrane enables the purification of the lignin fraction with an efficient removal of the impurities originating from both the lignocellulosic material and the pretreatment.The integration of both processes allows the co-valorization of the lignin fraction, besides the primary C5/C6 sugar fraction produced in the two-stage alkaline oxidation of softwood. Also some preliminary techno-economic calculations have been realized on the membrane separation process to asses the economic potential of this technology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	86-96
Journal	Industrial Crops and Products
Volume	106
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2017
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This research was partially supported by a grant from the General Secretariat of Research and Technology, Greek Ministry of Development, through the PENED99 program.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Keywords

Lignin
Lignocellulose
Membrane technology
Separation
Techno-economic evaluation
Two-stage alkaline oxidation

Access to Document

10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

Cite this

Servaes, K., Varhimo, A., Dubreuil, M., Bulut, M., Vandezande, P., Siika-aho, M., Sirviö, J., Kruus, K., Porto-Carrero, W., & Bongers, M. (2017). Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology. Industrial Crops and Products, 106, 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

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abstract = "Lignocellulosic plant biomass is a renewable and abundant source for the production of bio-based fuels, chemicals and chemical building blocks. Efficient fractionation and conversion of these feedstocks are an essential step in the valorization of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions. The use of a new two-stage alkaline oxidation (AlkOx) process has been investigated for the pretreatment of softwood in presence of sodium carbonate.Within this study, the use of commercial polymeric and ceramic ultrafiltration membranes for the purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the AlkOx process has been evaluated enabling further valorization thereof. Higher permeation fluxes were observed, ranging from 30 to 139L/m2 h, depending on the hydrophilicity, pore size and structure/chemistry of the membrane. High lignin retentions have been obtained for all membranes. Diafiltration of the spent liquor using the ESP04 membrane enables the purification of the lignin fraction with an efficient removal of the impurities originating from both the lignocellulosic material and the pretreatment.The integration of both processes allows the co-valorization of the lignin fraction, besides the primary C5/C6 sugar fraction produced in the two-stage alkaline oxidation of softwood. Also some preliminary techno-economic calculations have been realized on the membrane separation process to asses the economic potential of this technology.",

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Servaes, K, Varhimo, A, Dubreuil, M, Bulut, M, Vandezande, P, Siika-aho, M, Sirviö, J, Kruus, K, Porto-Carrero, W & Bongers, M 2017, 'Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 106, pp. 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

TY - JOUR

T1 - Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology

AU - Servaes, K.

AU - Varhimo, Antero

AU - Dubreuil, M.

AU - Bulut, M.

AU - Vandezande, P.

AU - Siika-aho, Matti

AU - Sirviö, Jari

AU - Kruus, Kristiina

AU - Porto-Carrero, W.

AU - Bongers, M.

PY - 2017/11/1

Y1 - 2017/11/1

N2 - Lignocellulosic plant biomass is a renewable and abundant source for the production of bio-based fuels, chemicals and chemical building blocks. Efficient fractionation and conversion of these feedstocks are an essential step in the valorization of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions. The use of a new two-stage alkaline oxidation (AlkOx) process has been investigated for the pretreatment of softwood in presence of sodium carbonate.Within this study, the use of commercial polymeric and ceramic ultrafiltration membranes for the purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the AlkOx process has been evaluated enabling further valorization thereof. Higher permeation fluxes were observed, ranging from 30 to 139L/m2 h, depending on the hydrophilicity, pore size and structure/chemistry of the membrane. High lignin retentions have been obtained for all membranes. Diafiltration of the spent liquor using the ESP04 membrane enables the purification of the lignin fraction with an efficient removal of the impurities originating from both the lignocellulosic material and the pretreatment.The integration of both processes allows the co-valorization of the lignin fraction, besides the primary C5/C6 sugar fraction produced in the two-stage alkaline oxidation of softwood. Also some preliminary techno-economic calculations have been realized on the membrane separation process to asses the economic potential of this technology.

AB - Lignocellulosic plant biomass is a renewable and abundant source for the production of bio-based fuels, chemicals and chemical building blocks. Efficient fractionation and conversion of these feedstocks are an essential step in the valorization of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions. The use of a new two-stage alkaline oxidation (AlkOx) process has been investigated for the pretreatment of softwood in presence of sodium carbonate.Within this study, the use of commercial polymeric and ceramic ultrafiltration membranes for the purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the AlkOx process has been evaluated enabling further valorization thereof. Higher permeation fluxes were observed, ranging from 30 to 139L/m2 h, depending on the hydrophilicity, pore size and structure/chemistry of the membrane. High lignin retentions have been obtained for all membranes. Diafiltration of the spent liquor using the ESP04 membrane enables the purification of the lignin fraction with an efficient removal of the impurities originating from both the lignocellulosic material and the pretreatment.The integration of both processes allows the co-valorization of the lignin fraction, besides the primary C5/C6 sugar fraction produced in the two-stage alkaline oxidation of softwood. Also some preliminary techno-economic calculations have been realized on the membrane separation process to asses the economic potential of this technology.

KW - Lignin

KW - Lignocellulose

KW - Membrane technology

KW - Separation

KW - Techno-economic evaluation

KW - Two-stage alkaline oxidation

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84992416882

U2 - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

DO - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.005

M3 - Article

SN - 0926-6690

VL - 106

SP - 86

EP - 96

JO - Industrial Crops and Products

JF - Industrial Crops and Products

ER -

Purification and concentration of lignin from the spent liquor of the alkaline oxidation of woody biomass through membrane separation technology

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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