Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions

Sustainable development depends on the efficient processing of biomass into valuable chemicals, fuels, and materials. Herein, we report the facile and efficient microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse (SB) under mild conditions using environmentally friendly acid/alcohol mixtures for 20...

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Main Authors: Emmanuel Mkumbuzi, Werner E. van Zyl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17518253.2025.2539736
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author Emmanuel Mkumbuzi
Werner E. van Zyl
author_facet Emmanuel Mkumbuzi
Werner E. van Zyl
author_sort Emmanuel Mkumbuzi
collection DOAJ
description Sustainable development depends on the efficient processing of biomass into valuable chemicals, fuels, and materials. Herein, we report the facile and efficient microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse (SB) under mild conditions using environmentally friendly acid/alcohol mixtures for 20 minutes at 160 °C. The main monoaromatic products detected in the ethyl acetate extracted bio-oils as characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were investigated, and a variety of carbonyls, esters, carboxylic acids, and unsaturated compounds were detected. Overall, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (DHBF) had the greatest percentage composition of 33.7% in a formic acid/methanol mixture. Methyl p-coumarate, 3’-methoxyacetophenone, dioctyl phthalate, vanillin, 4-propenylsyringol, and syringaldehyde were also detected. The highest total monoaromatic percentage composition of 64.45% was found in the acetic acid/methanol mixture. Acid/alcohol mixtures in general had higher monoaromatic percentage compositions compared to acid-only solutions due to the stabilization effect of alcohols on reactive fragments, acid-only experiments had low yields of 7.64% in formic acid and 11.18% in acetic acid. The study demonstrated that both the acid and the alcohol in the mixture determined the monoaromatic compounds detected in the bio-oil. Gravimetrically, ∼10% w/w of bio-oil, ∼12% w/w hemicelluloses derivatives, ∼20% w/w lignin derivatives, and ∼25% w/w cellulosic derivatives were collected after liquefaction.
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spelling doaj-art-06517e1ca21545ce95c088d035e794be2025-08-20T03:56:18ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGreen Chemistry Letters and Reviews1751-82531751-71922025-12-0118110.1080/17518253.2025.2539736Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutionsEmmanuel Mkumbuzi0Werner E. van Zyl1School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaSchool of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaSustainable development depends on the efficient processing of biomass into valuable chemicals, fuels, and materials. Herein, we report the facile and efficient microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse (SB) under mild conditions using environmentally friendly acid/alcohol mixtures for 20 minutes at 160 °C. The main monoaromatic products detected in the ethyl acetate extracted bio-oils as characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were investigated, and a variety of carbonyls, esters, carboxylic acids, and unsaturated compounds were detected. Overall, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (DHBF) had the greatest percentage composition of 33.7% in a formic acid/methanol mixture. Methyl p-coumarate, 3’-methoxyacetophenone, dioctyl phthalate, vanillin, 4-propenylsyringol, and syringaldehyde were also detected. The highest total monoaromatic percentage composition of 64.45% was found in the acetic acid/methanol mixture. Acid/alcohol mixtures in general had higher monoaromatic percentage compositions compared to acid-only solutions due to the stabilization effect of alcohols on reactive fragments, acid-only experiments had low yields of 7.64% in formic acid and 11.18% in acetic acid. The study demonstrated that both the acid and the alcohol in the mixture determined the monoaromatic compounds detected in the bio-oil. Gravimetrically, ∼10% w/w of bio-oil, ∼12% w/w hemicelluloses derivatives, ∼20% w/w lignin derivatives, and ∼25% w/w cellulosic derivatives were collected after liquefaction.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17518253.2025.2539736Sugarcane bagasseliquefactionmicrowave-assistedaromatic monomersacid/alcohol
spellingShingle Emmanuel Mkumbuzi
Werner E. van Zyl
Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews
Sugarcane bagasse
liquefaction
microwave-assisted
aromatic monomers
acid/alcohol
title Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
title_full Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
title_fullStr Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
title_short Sustainable microwave-assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid/alcohol solutions
title_sort sustainable microwave assisted liquefaction of sugarcane bagasse into aromatic monomers using green acid alcohol solutions
topic Sugarcane bagasse
liquefaction
microwave-assisted
aromatic monomers
acid/alcohol
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17518253.2025.2539736
work_keys_str_mv AT emmanuelmkumbuzi sustainablemicrowaveassistedliquefactionofsugarcanebagasseintoaromaticmonomersusinggreenacidalcoholsolutions
AT wernerevanzyl sustainablemicrowaveassistedliquefactionofsugarcanebagasseintoaromaticmonomersusinggreenacidalcoholsolutions