Mild Alkaline Pretreatment for Isolation of Native-Like Lignin and Lignin-Containing Cellulose Nanofibers (LCNF) from Crop Waste

The efficient utilization of crop waste is limited because of plant cell wall recalcitrance. Solving this problem through sustainable processing while producing value-added products is crucial. Here we report a rapid lignocellulose fractionation method applied to common reed using milling under mild alkaline conditions without involving any organic solvents or other reagents. Lignin-containing cellulose nanofiber (LCNF) and native-like lignins were obtained in high yield. LCNF films prepared from the LCNF suspension could have their properties, such as transparency and hydrophobicity, adjusted by changing the pretreatment conditions. Overall this biomass fractionation provides value-added products and is an alternative to simply burning the crop waste.