Title
Liquefaction and characterization of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin with phosphotungstic acid
Authors
ZHOU JING HU LIHONG ZHOU YONGHONG JIA PUYOU and LIANG BINGCHUAN

Received May 17, 2017
Published Volume 52 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords enzymatic hydrolysis lignin, phosphotungstic acid, liquefaction, phenolic compounds

Abstract
Enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) derived from bio-ethanol production is attracting increased attention for use as a substitute for petroleum-based phenol in phenolic resins. In this work, EHL was successfully liquefied into small phenolic compounds with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) as a catalyst in the presence of phenol. In addition, liquefied EHL was substituted for phenol to formulate a novolac bio-based phenolic resin (EHL-PF). The differences between EHL and liquefied EHL were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Compared to the existing methods, liquefaction with the new catalyst provides a lower-molecular-weight product.