Abstract: A method of producing crystalline cellulose from a cellulosic material includes the step of reacting the cellulosic material in an aqueous slurry comprising a transition metal catalyst and a hypohalite solution.
Abstract: A biorefining method of processing a lignocellulosic biomass to separate lignin and hemicellulose from cellulose includes the steps of (a) reacting the biomass in an aqueous slurry having a pH less than 7, comprising a transition metal catalyst, hydrogen peroxide; and (b) separating a solid cellulose fraction from dissolved lignin and hemicellulose fractions. The method may also be used to treat cellulose and produce microcrystalline or nanocrystalline cellulose. The transition metal catalyst may be a nanoparticulate catalyst including multivalent iron, iron oxides and iron hydroxides. The nanoparticulate catalyst may be formed by oxidizing a highly reduced solution of iron, such as groundwater that has not been exposed to oxygen.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 29, 2012
Date of Patent:
July 12, 2016
Assignee:
Nano-Green Biorefineries Inc.
Inventors:
Andrew A. Olkowski, Bernard Laarveld, Norman Arrison
Abstract: A biorefining method of processing a lignocellulosic biomass to separate lignin and hemicellulose from cellulose includes the steps of (a) reacting the biomass in an aqueous slurry having a pH less than 7, comprising a transition metal catalyst, hydrogen peroxide; and (b) separating a solid cellulose fraction from dissolved lignin and hemicellulose fractions. The method may also be used to treat cellulose and produce microcrystalline or nanocrystalline cellulose. The transition metal catalyst may be a nanoparticulate catalyst including multivalent iron, iron oxides and iron hydroxides. The nanoparticulate catalyst may be formed by oxidizing a highly reduced solution of iron, such as groundwater that has not been exposed to oxygen.