Sugarcane bagasse mild alkaline fractionation and production of purified fractions by pulse chromatography with water

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was treated under mild alkaline conditions (solid:liquid ratio of 1:20 (w/v), 1.5% NaOH (w/v), 60 degrees C, 6 h) to fractionate the lignocellulose in order to produce a typical mild alkaline extract from a lignocellulosic biomass. The solid residue was enriched in cellulose, while the SCB alkaline extract contained lignin and hemicelluloses, but also inorganic salts, five phenolic monomers and acetic acid. After concentration of the alkaline extract by evaporation, low pressure chromatography with water as eluent was performed to produce purified fractions. Two different strong acid cation (SAC) exchange resins were tested: one gel-type resin and one macroporous-type resin. The lignin and hemicelluloses were separated from the inorganic salts by the gel-type SAC exchange resin. On this resin, the phenolic monomers were partitioned regarding the presence or absence in their structure of a carboxyl group. On the macroporous-type SAC exchange resin, the largest sugar oligomers and lignin oligomers were obtained in a fraction free of inorganic salts, phenolic monomers and acetic acid.