Purification of bamboo pulp using tailored acidic deep eutectic solvents
摘要
The valorization of bamboo pulp into high-reactivity dissolving pulp remains a significant challenge in biorefining. This study systematically investigated three functionally distinct acidic deep eutectic solvents (DESs), including maleic acid (organic), phosphotungstic acid (heteropoly acid), and FeCl3 (Lewis acid) enhanced choline chloride/ethylene glycol for bamboo pulp upgrading. Among them, the phosphotungstic acid-based DESs (DESs-PTA) exhibited superior performance due to its strong Brønsted acidity and oxidative capability, efficiently hydrolyzing hemicellulose and lignin while selectively disrupting amorphous cellulose hydrogen bonds. Consequently, the treated pulp achieved significantly reduced intrinsic viscosity (406 mL/g), and markedly enhanced Fock reactivity (93.1%) at optimized process conditions, such as PTA addition of 2.5%, time of 1.5 h and temperature of 90 ℃. In addition, the DESs-PTA can be readily reused by evaporating method, where maintaining 89.0% recovery after five recycle times. In short, the work reveals the structure–activity relationship between acid type and purification mechanism, providing a sustainable strategy for producing high-value dissolving pulp with tailored properties for advanced applications.