One-step conversion of corn stalk to glucose and furfural in molten salt hydrate/organic solvent biphasic system

An effective approach for glucose and furfural production by converting cellulose and hemicelluloses from corn stalk in a biphasic system of molten salt hydrate (MSH) and organic solvent using H₂SO₄ as catalyst was reported. Results showed that the system with LiBr·3H₂O and dichloromethane (DCM) had excellent performance in cellulose and hemicelluloses conversion. Under the optimal reaction conditions (corn stalk:LiBr·3H₂O:DCM ratio = 0.35:10:20 g/mL/mL, 0.05 mol/L H₂SO₄, 120 °C, 90 min), 58.9% glucose and 72.5% furfural were yielded. Meanwhile, lignin was obviously depolymerized by the cleavage of β-O-4' linkages and fractionated with high purity and low molecular weight for potential coproducts. Fluorescence microscopy and confocal Raman microscope displayed that the LiBr·3H₂O/DCM treatment caused decreasing intensities in carbohydrate and lignin, suggesting the degradation of the main components of biomass. This research provided a promising biorefinery technology for the comprehensive utilization of corn stalk.