IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v257y2026ics0960148125024048.html

Effect of molecular scale behavior of lignin during alcohols pretreatment of wheat straw on carbohydrates conversion

Author

Listed:
  • Fan, Meishan
  • Ni, Bingying
  • Cheng, Ziyong
  • Xie, Jun
  • Chen, Yong

Abstract

The recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass necessitates efficient pretreatments to valorize both carbohydrates and lignin. Despite alcohols being green alternatives for lignin extraction, the molecular mechanisms driving lignin solubilization and its impact on enzyme accessibility remain poorly understood. Here, we comparatively investigated ethanol (monohydric), ethylene glycol (diol), and glycerol (polyol) for wheat straw fractionation, integrating experimental analysis (2D HSQC NMR, enzymatic hydrolysis) with quantum calculations (DFT, molecular dynamics). Ethylene glycol exhibited superior lignin removal (50 %) and holocellulose conversion (72.86 %), attributed to (1) non-covalent interactions (sumδg = 3.668 vs. <2.75 for ethanol/glycerol) enhancing lignin solubility; (2) α-etherification preserving β-O-4 linkages (50.93 per 100Ar vs. 41.32–43.81 in others); and (3) suppressing cellulase non-productive binding (44.5 % free enzyme retention). NaOH-catalyzed ethylene glycol further elevated glucose yield to 85.09 %, outperforming acid systems. This work decouples solvent hydroxyl density from lignin functionality, proposing ethylene glycol as a process-compatible solvent for integrated biorefineries to advance carbon-neutral bio-economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan, Meishan & Ni, Bingying & Cheng, Ziyong & Xie, Jun & Chen, Yong, 2026. "Effect of molecular scale behavior of lignin during alcohols pretreatment of wheat straw on carbohydrates conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:257:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125024048
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124740
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125024048
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124740?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fan, Meishan & Li, Jun & Liu, Zhu & Li, Caiqun & Zhang, Hongdan & Xie, Jun & Chen, Yong, 2023. "Evaluating performance of CrCl3-catalyzed ethanol pretreatment of poplar on cellulose conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Qiang Liu & Tsubasa Kawai & Yoshiaki Inukai & Dan Aoki & Zhihang Feng & Yihui Xiao & Kazuhiko Fukushima & Xianyong Lin & Weiming Shi & Wolfgang Busch & Yasuyuki Matsushita & Baohai Li, 2023. "A lignin-derived material improves plant nutrient bioavailability and growth through its metal chelating capacity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shi, Tao & Liu, Zhi-Hua & Ragauskas, Arthur J. & Yuan, Ying-Jin & Li, Bing-Zhi, 2025. "Versatile lignin valorization drives sustainable agriculture," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    2. Jiang Du & Huazhen Xu & Da-xia Zhang & Shouqian Feng, 2025. "Chelation and nanoparticle delivery of monomeric dopamine to increase plant salt stress resistance," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:257:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125024048. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.