Correspondence Between Structure and Reactivity During Hydrothermal Conversion of Lignocellulosic Macromolecules

Abstract

Correspondence Between Structure and Reactivity During Hydrothermal Conversion of Lignocellulosic Macromolecules—In this study, reaction pathway of a woody biomass under hydrothermal conditions is investigated in order to further understand reactions that occur during the thermochemical liquefaction of a lignocellulosic biomass. A multitechnique analytical approach combining chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques has been developed in order to characterize both chemical structure and molecular weight of the products. From our experiments, we can assume that the holocellulosic and the ligneous fractions of biomass have different reactivity under hydrothermal condition. Although hydrothermal conversion of holocellulose and lignin occur both according to a complex pathway composed of competitive fragmentation and condensation reactions, holocellulose reacts first by total fragmentation to low molecular weight compounds followed by the condensation of the fragment to heavy molecular weight compounds, whereas lignin reacts essentially by partial depolymerisation. Since compounds produced from both the holocellulosic and the ligneous fraction are together in the reaction medium then they condense each other during the conversion of lignocellulosic material. © 2013, IFP Energies nouvelles.