Recovery of Aromatics through Supercritical Methanolysis and Ethanolysis of Industrial Lignin

The decomposition of industrial lignin in supercritical methanol and ethanol was investigated in an autoclave at 300°C. Phenol derivatives such as guaiacols and ethylphenols were major components in GC/MS-detectable benzene ring-containing compounds (BRCCs) produced. The species of BRCCs generated from lignin methanolysis were rich, whereas the yields of BRCCs from lignin ethanolysis were high. Most of BRCCs were obtained by nucleophilic substitution reaction in which methanol and ethanol were employed as the nucleophilic reagent.