Integral valorization of "Leucaena diversifolia" by hydrothermal and pulp processing

Abstract

Wood from the leguminous tree, Leucaena diversifolia, was subjected to hydrothermal treatment (autohydrolysis) at 160–180 °C for 0–30 min followed by ethanol–soda–anthraquinone delignification. The liquid phase contained 18.65 g of sugars per liter, and the solid phase had a gross heating value of 19.083 MJ/kg, but could also be used as a source of cellulose pulp for the production of paper with tear, burst, and tensile indexes of 2.4 N m2/kg, 2.6 MPa m2/kg and 40.7 kN m/kg, respectively. L. diversifolia lends itself readily to valorization for energy production, and also to integral, fractional exploitation by autohydrolysis and ethanol–soda–anthraquinone delignification, which can additionally bring environmental benefits to cropping zones.