The University of Western Ontario

Fpinnovations

Chunbao Xu

Zhongshun Yuan

Michael Paleologou

Madhumita B Ray

Sadra Souzanchi

Zaid Ahmad

Laleh Nazari

Hongwei Li

Yongsheng Zhang

Tirumala Venkateswara Rao Kasanneni

Dennise Johanna Sosa Carrero

Shanghuan Feng

The present relates to a process for the depolymerization of lignin using chemicals recoverable by the soda or kraft mill recovery cycles. The process involves the use of sodium hydroxide or white liquor to depolymerize lignin in black liquor or other lignins (e.g. hydrolysis lignin, kraft lignin) by conducting the reaction at 170-250&#xb0; C. for up to 3 hours in the presence or absence of a co-solvent and a capping agent. The depolymerized lignin is then obtained by acidifying the reaction products to a low pH to precipitate the de-polymerized lignin, followed by particle coagulation, cake filtration and washing with acid and water to obtain a purified depolymerized lignin product.

Lignin depolymerization process using chemicals recoverable by the kraft recovery cycle

The present disclosure provides a process for the synthesis of bio-based formaldehyde-free wood adhesive with lignin and cellulose derived bio-oil which can be generated from the fractionation/liquefaction of lignocellulose biomass such as agricultural and forestry wastes. Curable groups are introduced onto the bio oil through functionalization reaction with cyclic anhydrides such as maleic anhydride, citric anhydride, phthalic anhydride, succinic anhydride, methyl succinic anhydride. Wood adhesives are formulated with the functionalized bio oil by addition of water and curing agents. Two-ply plywood samples were prepared following the ASTM International Standard 2017, D2339-98 and cured on a hot press between 190-200&#xb0; C. for 3-4 min under 3 MPa pressure. The plywood samples have dry and wet strengths in the range of up to 3.5 MPa with over 80% wood failure.

Process for the production of bio-based formaldehyde-free wood adhesives from lignocellulosic biomass

Disclosed is a cost-effective process for catalytic conversion of simple C-based sugars (such as glucose and fructose) and industrial-grade sugar syrups derived from starch (such as different grades of High Fructose Corn Syrup) and cellulosic biomass to 5-HydroxyMethylFurfural (5-HMF) in a continuous-flow tubular reactor in bi-phasic media using inexpensive heterogeneous solid catalysts. Commercial and synthesized heterogeneous solid catalysts were used and their activities in terms of sugar conversion and HMF selectivity and yield were compared. Continuous dehydration of fructose, glucose and industrial-grade sugar syrups derived from corn and wood to HMF was achieved and the stability of selected catalysts and feasibility of catalyst recycling and regeneration were demonstrated. The performance of the catalysts and reactor system were examined under different operating conditions including reaction temperature, feeding flow rate, initial feedstock concentration, catalyst loading, presence of extracting organic solvent and phase transfer catalyst and aqueous to organic phase ratio. At the best operating conditions, HMF yield attained 60%, 45% and 53%, from dehydration of fructose, glucose and HFCS-90, respectively.

Bi-phasic continuous-flow tubular reactor and heterogeneous catalysts preparation method for production of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural

The disclosed invention is a process for liquefaction of hydrolysis residue of lignocellulosic biomass, original lignocellulosic biomass or municipal solid waste in alcohol-water media at alkaline conditions, for the production of low-Mbio-oils. The disclosed process is characterized in that it works for the direct liquefaction of the biomass, and operates under mild conditions (&#x3c;300&#xb0; C. and &#x3c;10 MPa) employing alkali compounds as catalysts (NaOH, KOH, CaO, NaCO, KCO, Ca(OH)or Ba(OH)). The process is further characterized in that it employs mixed solvents (glycerol-water, ethylene-glycol, water, glycerol-alcohol-water or ethylene-glycol-alcohol water), where all solvents are recyclable and reusable. The low-Mw bio-oils from hydrolysis residue of lignocellulosic biomass, original lignocellulosic biomass or municipal solid waste can be utilized as a liquid bio-fuel or bio-based chemicals for the production of various bio-based materials.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-oils with controlled molecular weights

This disclosure provides a process based on hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) treatment for co-processing of high-water-content wastewater sludge and other lignocellulosic biomass for co-production of biogas and bio-crude oil. The mixture of waste activated sludge and lignocellulosic biomass such as birchwood sawdust/cornstalk/MSW was converted under HTL conditions in presence of KOH as the homogeneous catalyst. The operating conditions including reaction temperature, reaction time and solids concentration were optimized based on the response surface methodology for the maximum bio-crude oil production. The highest bio-crude oil yield of around 34 wt % was obtained by co-feeding waste activated sludge with lignocellulosic biomass at an optimum temperature of 310&#xb0; C., reaction time of 10 min, and solids concentration of 10 wt %. The two by-products from this process (bio-char and water-soluble products) can be used to produce energy as well. Water-soluble products were used to produce biogas through Bio-methane Potential Test (BMP) and were found to produce around 800 mL bio-methane cumulatively in 30 days per 0.816 g of total organic carbon (TOC) or 2.09 g of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of water-soluble products.

Hydrothermal liquefaction co-processing of wastewater sludge and lignocellulosic biomass for co-production of bio-gas and bio-oils

A resin composition containing the reaction product of a 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) produced in-situ from e.g., glucose and a phenolic compound. Phenolic compounds include phenol, cardanol and bio-phenol. The resin is heat-curable using cross-linking agents such as tetraethylammonium chloride or lignin, etc.

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London, Canada

Chunbao Xu