Scopus İndeksli Yayınlar Koleksiyonu / Scopus Indexed Publications Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/7148

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  • Article
    Fractionation of Guaiacyl and Syringyl-Lignin Units Using Organic Solvent Nanofiltration
    (Elsevier, 2026) Dutta, Abhishek; Dutta, Abhishek; Van Aelst, Korneel; Sels, Bert; Van der Bruggen, Bart; Cornet, Iris; 03.02. Department of Chemical Engineering; 03. Faculty of Engineering; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology
    A major obstacle to employing the full potential of lignin-based aromatics is the fractionation of the monomers present in lignin, specifically the separation of guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) units, which possess nearly identical molecular weights (196 Da versus 166 Da) and dimensions, and identical functional groups. Such similarities make their separation highly challenging using conventional techniques and are generally considered beyond the capabilities of size-based membrane processes. This study examines the feasibility of organic solvent nano-filtration for fractionation of guaiacyl and syringyl units, and how membrane and process parameters affect separation of these two molecules. Sixteen commercially available membranes were tested with methanol and ethyl acetate as solvents. The results demonstrate that, despite the extreme similarity of the solutes, selective separation is achievable and is primarily governed by membrane material and solvent selection rather than the pore size-based molecular weight cut-off. Polyimide-based solvent-resistant membranes exhibited the highest selectivity, with a maximum observed separation factor of 3.33 obtained using a DuraMemTM 500 membrane in methanol. These findings demonstrate the potential of nanofiltration to address previously unresolved separation challenges in lignin valorization and provide a basis for further process development.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 12
    Citation - Scopus: 14
    Extraction of Monophenols and Fractionation of Depolymerized Lignin Oil With Nanofiltration Membranes
    (Elsevier, 2023) Croes, Tim; Dutta, Abhishek; De Bie, Robin; Van Aelst, Korneel; Sels, Bert; Van der Bruggen, Bart; 03.02. Department of Chemical Engineering; 03. Faculty of Engineering; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology
    Organic solvent nanofiltration membranes were employed to fractionate birch derived reductive catalytic fractionated (RCF) lignin oil. This lignin oil is highly depolymerized, with most, if not all chemical compounds lighter than 3 kDa. Sixteen commercially available membranes were investigated for the fractionation, in combination with methanol and ethyl acetate as solvents. Membrane performances were quantified using Gaussian fits of gel permeation chromatograms and separation factor calculations. The separation factor was found to be primarily based on affinities instead of size-exclusion. The silicon-based membranes from Borsig (Germany) and PuraMem S600 from Evonik (UK) proved best at separating lignin into different functional fractions, showing monomer separation factors up to 7.4 and providing a permeate fraction with 88 % phenolic monomer purity. These membranes were further examined in batch diafiltration and two-stage filtration. This increased the separation factor from 7.4 to 25.4, and the monomer purity of the permeate to 95 %, proving that membrane purification of the lignin-derived monophenols is technically feasible.