Catalytic Decomposition of Wood, CaDeWo Annual report 2009

In this project the aim is to study catalytic decomposition of wood or other lignocellulosic materials. The original process discovered in 2007 takes place in alkaline water solution at elevated temperature (100-120 o C) and oxygen pressure (10 bar) in presence of copper complex catalyst. During the year the effect of different conditions on the dissolution of wood has been studied and found that very similar dissolution of lignin and hemicellulose takes place also without the copper complex. The process research focus has been in this new catalyst-free treatment and its optimization for ethanol production after hydrolysis and fermentation. In mechanistic studies different lignin model compounds have been studied in order to understand the function of the catalytic oxidation. Characterization of the reaction products is essential for understanding of the dissolution process and mechanisms. For that phosphorous NMR and capillary electrophoresis have been studied and developed.