Method of delignification of plant material, said method comprising: providing said plant material comprising cellulose fibres and lignin; exposing said plant material requiring to a composition comprising: an acid; a modifying agent selected from the group consisting of: sulfamic acid; imidazole; N-alkylimidazole derivative; taurine; a taurine derivative; a taurine-related compound; alkylsulfonic acid; arylsulfonic acid; triethanolamine; and combinations thereof; a metal oxide; and a peroxide; adding an organic solvent to the resulting mixture; allowing a delignification reaction to occur for a period of time sufficient to remove at least 80% of the lignin present on said plant material.

The present invention provides a pulp product (e.g., paper) comprising cellulose and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose is derived from the cellulose in a mechanical and/or chemical step that is separate from the main pulping process. The pulping process may be thermomechanical pulping or hydrothermal-mechanical pulping, for example. The pulp product is stronger and smoother with the presence of the nanocellulose. The nanocellulose further can function as a retention aid, for a step of forming the pulp product (e.g., in a paper machine). Other embodiments provide a corrugated medium pulp composition comprising cellulose pulp and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose includes cellulose nanofibrils and/or cellulose nanocrystals and the nanocellulose may be hydrophobic. The nanocellulose improves the strength properties of the corrugated medium. In some embodiments, the cellulose pulp is a GreenBox+® pulp and the nanocellulose is derived from the AVAP® process.

The present invention provides a pulp product (e.g., paper) comprising cellulose and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose is derived from the cellulose in a mechanical and/or chemical step that is separate from the main pulping process. The pulping process may be thermomechanical pulping or hydrothermal-mechanical pulping, for example. The pulp product is stronger and smoother with the presence of the nanocellulose. The nanocellulose further can function as a retention aid, for a step of forming the pulp product (e.g., in a paper machine). Other embodiments provide a corrugated medium pulp composition comprising cellulose pulp and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose includes cellulose nanofibrils and/or cellulose nanocrystals and the nanocellulose may be hydrophobic. The nanocellulose improves the strength properties of the corrugated medium. In some embodiments, the cellulose pulp is a GreenBox+® pulp and the nanocellulose is derived from the AVAP® process.

Method of delignification of plant material, said method comprising: providing said plant material comprising cellulose fibres and lignin; exposing said plant material requiring to a composition comprising: an acid; a capping agent; and a peroxide;
for a period of time sufficient to remove substantially all (at least 80%) of the lignin present on said plant material. Also disclosed are compositions to accomplish such delignification and processes using such.

Method of delignification of plant material, said method comprising: providing said plant material comprising cellulose fibres and lignin; exposing said plant material requiring to a composition comprising: an acid; a capping agent; and a peroxide;
for a period of time sufficient to remove substantially all (at least 80%) of the lignin present on said plant material. Also disclosed are compositions to accomplish such delignification and processes using such.

A cooking method wherein partly digested wood based cellulosic raw material is compressed during cooking to provide high molecular weight xylan, lignin and pulp.

A cooking method and a digester system wherein partly digested cellulosic fiber source is compressed during cooking to provide high molecular weight xylan, high molecular weight lignin and pulp.

A method for producing a partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material is provided including treating a lignocellulosic material with an acid and/or an alkali and then a polyol. Also provided are methods of producing a fermentable sugar, or a fermentable sugar and a fermentation product from said partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material. A partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material, a fermentable sugar, and fermentation product produced by such methods are also provided. Also provided is an apparatus for producing a partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material, such as by the aforementioned method.

A method for producing a partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material is provided including treating a lignocellulosic material with an acid and/or an alkali and then a polyol. Also provided are methods of producing a fermentable sugar, or a fermentable sugar and a fermentation product from said partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material. A partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material, a fermentable sugar, and fermentation product produced by such methods are also provided. Also provided is an apparatus for producing a partially hydrolysed lignocellulosic material, such as by the aforementioned method.

The present invention provides a process for producing a nanocellulose material, comprising: fractionating a lignocellulosic biomass feedstock in the presence of a solvent for lignin and water, but no acid catalyst, to generate cellulose-rich solids; and then mechanically treating the cellulose-rich solids to form a nanocellulose material comprising cellulose nanofibrils and/or cellulose nanocrystals. Many organic or inorganic solvents are possible. In some embodiments, the solvent for lignin is an oxygenated organic compound, such as a C.sub.1-C.sub.18 alcohol, e.g. ethanol, ethylene glycol, propanol, propanediol, glycerol, butanol, or butanediol. The solvent for lignin may be an aromatic alcohol, such as phenol, cresol, or benzyl alcohol. The solvent for lignin may be a ketone, an aldehyde, or an ether, such as methyl ethyl ketone or diethyl ether. The solvent for lignin may be a non-oxygenated alkane, olefin, or aromatic hydrocarbon. In some embodiments, the solvent for lignin is an ionic liquid.