Patent ID: 8546116

Claim:
A method of continuously fractionating a lignocellulose-based biomass, comprising: providing the lignocellulose-based biomass in a reaction vessel at a pressure of about 130 to about 320 psig; extracting lignin from the biomass by adding a first solvent capable of dissolving the lignin, and wherein the first solvent is added to the reaction vessel for about 5 to about 40 minutes, at a temperature of about 80 to about 150° C.; extracting xylose by adding an acid at a high concentration of about 3 to about 8 wt % based on the total weight of the solvent for about 1 to about 10 minutes, and adding an acid at a low concentration of about 0.1 to about 3 wt % based on the total weight of the solvent for about 10 to about 30 minutes; and extracting the remaining cellulose from the biomass from which the lignin and the xylose are extracted, wherein the method is performed without removing the first solvent by washing between the lignin extraction and the xylose extraction steps.