Selective removal of lignin to enhance the process of preparing fermentable sugars and platform chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass

The economic dependency on fossil fuels and the resulting effects on climate and environment have put more focus on finding alternative renewable sources (e.g. lignocellulose) for the production of fuels and chemicals. Nevertheless, the yield and quality of fermentable sugar and platform chemical produced by directly degradation of lignocellulose are severely restricted owing to the presence of lignin and its derivatives. Therefore, the present study was aimed to selective removal of lignin to enhance the process of preparing fermentable sugars and platform chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. The results showed that the highest degree of delignification was 92.01%. Reducing sugar obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose was suitable for L-lactic acid fermentation without appreciable inhibition. The highest cellulose digestibility and yield of 5-HMF were 90.67% and 61.02%, respectively. SO42-/ZrO2 could be reused at least 5 times without appreciable loss of catalytic performance, which shows an industrial application prospects in biorefinery.