OrganoSoxhlet: circular fractionation to produce pulp for textiles using CO2 as acid source

Abstract

Organosolv pulping performed in a high-pressure Soxhlet extractor using carbon dioxide as a mild and recyclable acid is described. The system reached a liquid to wood ratio of 6.6 yielding 43 wt% of dissolving grade quality pulp from Populus trichocarpa. The set-up enabled to run reductive catalytic fractionation to yield a lipophilic lignin oil without affecting the performance nor the purity of the final pulp.