RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Accessing suberin from cork via ultrafast supercritical hydrolysis A1 Cocero Alonso, María José A1 Mission, Elaine Gabutin K1 Supercritical hydrolysis K1 Hidrólisis supercrítica K1 Suberin from cork K1 Suberina del corcho K1 23 Química AB Natural biopolyesters in the form of suberin could be a promising resource for the synthesis of a wide array of chemicals, fuels and materials. However, access to this molecule is limited by a chemical-intensive and laborious work-up procedure based on alkaline hydrolysis or methanolysis. Herein, we propose ultrafast supercritical hydrolysis as a novel and scalable approach for the facile access to suberin from cork. Supercritical water (SCW) with high or low ionic properties (pKw of 13 and 15) would allow the liquefaction of lignocellulosic materials while avoiding the hydrolysis of ester linkages. Therefore, extractives and carbohydrates partition in aqueous products while suberin and lignin are enriched in the solid products. Suberin yield reached as high as 66.6% of the dry cork at 386OC and 1.27 s (pKw = 13), owing to the removal of up to 94.7% of polysaccharides content of the original cork biomass. The occurrence of repolymerization reaction, however, was observed under this condition, including an increase in Klason lignin presumably due to pseudo-lignin formation. Meanwhile, lower repolymerization products accompanied by 77.1% polysaccharides and 14% lignin removal were achieved when working at 395OC and 0.25 s (pKw = 15), at the expense of lower suberin yield of 59.8%. It appears that even a longer reaction time of 1.27 s would not lead to hydrolysis of ester linkages in suberin but influences the extent of liquefaction of the lignocellulosic matrix and the formation of repolymerization products. A lower ion product and a reaction time of less than 1 s would be preferable to strike a balance between maximum polysaccharides removal and minimum repolymerization product generation. This study has contributed to the development of a new sustainable process to access valuable molecules from cork and has highlighted the importance of obtaining high-quality and highly functionalized biopolymers as a source of new building blocks. PB Royal Society of Chemistry SN 1463-9262 YR 2022 FD 2022 LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/55915 UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/55915 LA eng NO Green Chemistry, Issue 21, 2022 NO Producción Científica DS UVaDOC RD 15-oct-2024