Recent advances in alcohol and organic acid fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass

Organosolv fractionation is a promising process to separate lignocellulosic biomass for the preparation of multiply products including biofuels, chemicals, and materials. This review presents the state of art of different processes applying alcohols and organic acids to treat lignocellulosic biomass for the production of ethanol, lignin, xylose, etc. The major organosolv technologies using ethanol, formic acid, and acetic acid, are intensively introduced and discussed in depth. In addition, the structural modifications of the major components of lignocelluloses, the technical processes, and the applications of the products were also summarized. The object of the review is to provide recent information in the field of organosolv process for the integrated biorefinery. The perspectives of the challenge and opportunity related to this topic are also presented. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.