SIMULTANEOUS PRODUCTION OF WOO'D PULP AND TH E
CONVERSION OE THE NONCELLULOSIC CONSTITUENT S
OE WOOD INTO ALCOHOLS, OILS, AND RESINS
February 194 0
UNITED STATES EPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUR E
LEO` ST SERVIC E
LFOREST PR DUCTS LABORATOR Y
L Madison, Wisconsi n
In Cooperation with . the University of Wisconsin

SIMULTANEOUS PRODUCTION OF WOOD PULP AND
THE CONVERSION OF THE NONCELLULOSIC CONSTITUENT S
OF WOOD INTO ALCOHOLS, OILS, AND , RESINS l
By
ELWIN E . HARRIS, Chemist and
E . C . SHERRARD, Principal Chemis t
•
In an earlier paper? it was shown that lignin tha t has been freed of cellulosic material can be hydrogenated .in
a water suspension to produce methanol, several derivative s of propyl cyclohexane, and a high-boiling resin . When woo d in the form of chips or sawdust was subjected to hydrogenation, the lignin was similarly hydrogenated with the production of oils and resins and some of the hemicellulosic material converted into
leaving the cellulosic materia l as a pulp .' . Because acidic substances wore liberated from wood which inhibited the reactivity of the catalyst, it wa s desirable to add sufficient alkali to keep the solutio n alkaline at all times . Alkali corresponding to 8 to 10 percent of the weight of the wood was usually used .
At higher pressures of hydrogen large amounts o f hydrogen were taken up and pulp, methanol, propyl alcohol , propyl cyclohoxane derivatives, and a resin were obtained .
It was found that it was possible to obtain sufficient pulping by controlling the extent of the hydrogenation through the use of lower pressures . The pulping solution, whic h normally becomes dark brown from the action of alkali on the lignin, remained light colored . Most of the lignin may b e obtained from this liquor, upon acidification, as a lowmelting, resin-like material that darkens on exposure to air .
Methyl and propyl alcohols are recoverable from the liquo r by distillation .
lApplication for U . S . patent covering this process has bee n made .
?Presented before the Cellulose Division, American Chemica l
Society, Boston, Mass ., September, 1939, by E . E . Harris .
3A general description of this process was presented befor e the Engineers' Club of Birmingham, Ala ., February 12, by C . P . Winslow . .
1940
R121S

Experimental
Thirty grams of air-dried wood chips were placed i n a 600 cc . hydrogenation bomb, 300 cc . of a solution containing sodium hydroxide and 0 .05 gram of Raney nickel catalys t were added . The bomb was closed and hydrogen pumped in t o give the desired starting pressure, The bomb was heate d until hydrogen was no longer absorbed, after which it wa s allowed to cool, The bomb was then o pened and the content s filtered to recover the pulp . Compounds boiling below 100° C . , consisting of methanol and propyl alcohol, were removed fro m the filtrate by distillation . , The remaining filtrate wa s acidified, throwing out an oily resin . Several propyl cyclohexane derivatives were obtained by distillation o f this resin . The acidified filtrate remaining after remova l of the resinous material was evaporated and a residue obtained . Table 1 gives the conditions for the variou s experiments and the yields of products obtained .
The pulp obtained without further treatment was abou t the color of newsprint paper . It was quite free from shive s and easily bleached by a mild treatment with chlorine .
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