Separation of hemicellulose and cellulose from wood pulp using a γ-valerolactone (GVL)/water mixture

Abstract In the present study, γ -valerolactone (GVL), a biomass-derived solvent, was used to remove hemicelluloses from hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HBKP) to treat the HBKP under various conditions. At the conditions of 0.007 N H2SO4 for 30 min of treatment at 150°C, the yield of pulp was 76.83% with alpha-cellulose content of 92.24%. The hemicellulose/cellulose removal selectivity at 135°C increased as the purification time increased. MWD data reveals that GVL/water treated cellulose sample showed a uni-molecular model (cellulose), while HBKP had a typical bi-molecular model (cellulose/ hemicellulose). The GVL/water acid-catalyzed system is a promising process to separate cellulose/hemicelluloses for industrial applications.