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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Extraction of Lignin with High β-O-4 Content by Mild Ethanol Extraction and Its Effect on the Depolymerization Yield
Published on: January 7, 2019
Selective Utilization of the Methoxy Group in Lignin to Produce Acetic Acid
Qingqing Mei1,2, Huizhen Liu1,2, Xiaojun Shen1,2
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Selective transformation of lignin into a valuable chemical is of great importance and challenge owing to its complex structure. Herein, we propose a strategy for the transformation of methoxy group (-OCH3 ) which is abundant in lignin into pure highly valuable chemicals. As an example to apply this strategy, a route to produce acetic acid with high selectivity by conversion of methoxy group of lignin was developed. It was demonstrated that the methoxy group in lignin could react with CO and water to generate acetic acid over RhCl3 in the presence of a promoter. The conversions of methoxy group in the kraft lignin and organosolv lignin reached 87.5 % and 80.4 %, respectively, and no by-product was generated. This work opens the way to produce pure chemicals using lignin as the feedstock.
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