Rapid one-step solvent-free acid-catalyzed mechanical depolymerization of pine sawdust to high-yield water-soluble sugars

One-step absolute solvent-free acid-catalyzed mechanical depolymerization of pine sawdust (PSD) and commercially available α-cellulose to water-soluble sugars was carried out using ball milling. For comparison purposes, the commonly reported “solvent-free” mechanocatalytic depolymerization of lignocellulose method, which normally involves three steps (acid impregnation in solvent, vacuum drying, and mechanical depolymerization of lignocellulose), was performed. The 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method was used to measure the total reducing sugar (TRS) of the obtained sugar solution, and major monosaccharides in the solution were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis (CE). More than 90% of the PSD became water-soluble through milling. Furthermore, most of the PSD was converted into TRS in approximately 30 min, and the highest TRS yield obtained was 31%, based on the dry mass. Interestingly, the TRS solutions obtained from the processed PSD were much darker than those obtained from α-cellulose due to the chromophores that formed during the depolymerization of lignin.