Daniel Mark Miles-Barrett

Organosolv processing of Sitka Spruce sawdust: Large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation Sitka Spruce (SiS) dominates wood production in Scotland and represents an important source of wood in the UK. A systematic analysis of the lignin obtained from SiS sawdust using methano-, ethano-, butano- and isobutano-solv pretreatments was carried out.

As societal challenges go, the development of efficient biorefineries as a means of reducing our dependence on petroleum refineries is high on the list. One of the core strength of the petroleum refinery is its ability to produce a huge range of different products using all of the components of the starting material. In contrast, the target of using all the biopolymers present in lignocellulosic biomass is far from realised.