Volume 202, 2017

Sustainable sources need reliable standards

Abstract

This review discusses the challenges within the research area of modern biomass fractionation and valorization. The current pulping industry focuses on pulp production and the resulting cellulose fiber. Hemicellulose and lignin are handled as low value streams for process heat and the regeneration of process chemicals. The paper and pulp industry have therefore developed analytical techniques to evaluate the cellulose fiber, while the other fractions are given a low priority. In a strive to also use the hemicellulose and lignin fractions of lignocellulosic biomass, moving towards a biorefining concept, there are severe shortcomings with the current pulping techniques and also in the analysis of the biomass. Lately, new fractionation techniques have emerged which valorize a larger extent of the lignocellulosic biomass. This progress has disclosed the shortcomings in the analysis of mainly the hemicellulose and lignin structure and properties. To move the research field forward, analytical tools for both the raw material, targeting all the wood components, and the generated fractions, as well as standardized methods for evaluating and reporting yields are desired. At the end of this review, a discourse on how such standardizations can be implemented is given.

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Jan 2017
Accepted
09 Feb 2017
First published
13 Feb 2017

Faraday Discuss., 2017,202, 281-301

Sustainable sources need reliable standards

Maxim V. Galkin, D. Di Francesco, U. Edlund and J. S. M. Samec, Faraday Discuss., 2017, 202, 281 DOI: 10.1039/C7FD00046D

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