Patent ID: 9322133
Filing Date: 2016-04-26
CPC Classification: C07G,C08B,C08H,C08L,C12P,C13K,D21C,D21H,Y02E,Y02P

Claim Text:
1. A hydrophobic nanocellulose material produced by a process comprising: (a) providing a lignocellulosic biomass feedstock; (b) fractionating said feedstock in the presence of an acid, a solvent for lignin, and water, to generate cellulose-rich solids and a liquid containing hemicellulose and lignin, wherein a portion of said lignin deposits onto a surface of said cellulose-rich solids, thereby rendering said cellulose-rich solids at least partially hydrophobic; (c) mechanically treating said cellulose-rich solids to form cellulose fibrils and/or cellulose crystals, thereby generating a hydrophobic nanocellulose material having a crystallinity of at least 60%; and (d) recovering said hydrophobic nanocellulose material, wherein said hydrophobic nanocellulose material contains nanocellulose particles having a concentration of surface lignin that is greater than a concentration of internal lignin within said nanocellulose particles, and wherein said surface lignin includes precipitated lignin.