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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Decomposition behavior of woody biomass in water-added supercritical methanol

Journal of Wood Science volume 51, pages 395–400 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

The chemical conversion of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata Blume) in water-added supercritical methanol was studied for a wide range of water content using a batch-type reaction vessel to obtain chemicals from lignocellulosics. It was consequently found that addition of water enhanced the decomposition of wood cell wall components; cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. In cases of high water content, however, it resulted in low solubility of lignin-derived products causing an increase in the mass of the residue. The water content was thus optimized to be around 10% (v/v) for the decomposition of wood. Concomitantly, the yields and selectivity of the chemicals from wood could be regulated by the addition of water, especially for the lignin-derived products. As a result, the monomeric compounds of lignin, coniferyl alcohol and sinapyl alcohol, were recovered as their γ-methyl ethers in the presence of water in higher yields than those obtained without addition of water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Eiji Minami & Shiro Saka

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  1. Eiji Minami
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  2. Shiro Saka
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Correspondence to Shiro Saka.

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Minami, E., Saka, S. Decomposition behavior of woody biomass in water-added supercritical methanol. J Wood Sci 51, 395–400 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-004-0670-y

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