ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Extraction products from Miscanthus var.‘Soranovskii’

Sergey G. Iľyasov, Viktor A. Cherkashin, Gennady V. Sakovich, and Dmitri A. Parkhomenko

Institute for Problems of Chemical and Energetic Technologies, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPCET SB RAS), Biysk 659322, Altai Krai, Russia

E-mail: ilysow@ipcet.ru

Abstract: The chemical structures of Miscanthus var. ‘Soranovskii’ lignin fractions released via extraction of lignin from the lignocellulosic feedstock using moderately heated acetone under atmospheric pressure, without acidic and alkaline catalysts, were studied. A blend of Miscanthus stems and leaves was pretreated with water under thermobaric conditions. The acetone organosolv process subsequently afforded a substance related to a lignin-like matter-acetone organosolv Miscanthus lignin (AOML). Non-destructive analytical techniques such as FTIR spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, size-exclusion chromatography, and 2D NMR were used. The IR and NMR spectroscopies revealed the AOML structure to comprise all the three major types of phenylpropane units: guaiacyl (G), syringyl (S), and p-hydroxyphenyl (H). The resultant acetone-organosolv lignin exhibits good solubility in polar solvents, moderate solubility in aromatic chemicals, and is insoluble in non-polar solvents, exhibiting the physicochemical properties of a thermoplastic polymer with a softening point of 67.0°C (onset 33.0°C, endset 81.5°C).

Keywords: Miscanthus var. ‘Soranovskii’ – hydrothermal treatment – depolymerisation – lignin – acetone organosolv lignin – thermoplasticity

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0158

Chemical Papers 69 (11) 1445–1453 (2015)