Lignocellulosic biomass, especially lignin and extractives, has the potential to substitute fossil precursors in the chemical industry. The conversion of lignin has been intensively researched, but challenges remain as high temperatures and increased pressure are commonly used, which is not energy efficient. Lignin and wood extractives bear chromophoric groups that can absorb light in the ultraviolet (UV) region, which enables photochemical reactions. Ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are an emerging technology; they are cheap, versatile, and energy-efficient compared to existing mercury lamps. UV-LEDs were used in this study as a proof of concept for the valorisation of a lignocellulosic residual stream from the pulp and paper industry, sawdust. In a process at ambient temperature and pressure and without the use of a catalyst, we have shown that lignin and extractives can be valorised using light from UV-LEDs. Simplified lignin model compounds were used to pinpoint chemical reactions during irradiation, and to ease the analysis of the sawdust samples. The rate of conversion upon irradiation of the model compounds was found to be 0.7–2.3 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹, depending on the concentration of the starting compounds.

Research in the field of photochemistry, including photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, has been revitalized due to the potential that photochemical reactions show in the sustainable production of chemicals. Therefore, there is a need for flexible photoreactor equipment that allows for the evaluation of the geometry, light wavelength, and intensity of the vessel, along with the fluid flow in various photochemical reactions. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have narrow emission spectra and can be either pulsed or run continuously; being flexible, they can be arranged to fit the dimensions of various types of the reactor vessel, depending on the application. This study presents a 3D printed photoreactor with the ability to adjust distances easily and switch between high-power LED light sources. The reactor design utilizes customized printed circuit boards to mount varying numbers and types of LEDs, which enables multiple wavelengths to be used simultaneously. These LED modules, comprised of heat sinks and cooling fans, fulfill the higher heat dissipation requirements of high-power LEDs. The flexibility of the reactor design is useful for optimizing the reaction geometry, flow conditions, wavelength, and intensity of photochemical reactions on a small scale. The estimates for incident light intensity under five possible reactor configurations using ferrioxalate actinometry are reported so that comparisons with other photoreactors can be made. The performance of the photoreactor for differing vessel sizes and distances, in both the flow and batch modes, is given for a photochemical reaction on 2-benzyloxyphenol—a model substance for lignin and applicable in the production of biobased chemicals.

For continuous crystallization of pharmaceutical and organic chemical compounds in a plug flow crystallizer, seed slurry, prepared in advance, is continuously fed into the crystallizer for controlled secondary nucleation and subsequently desired crystal properties. It is well known that the preparation of macro seed crystals using either the dry or wet method is a highly time-, energy- and material-intensive process, often taking many hours to prepare a 1 L seed slurry. The focus of this work is to examine whether how the seed slurry is made up could have any effect on the final crystal properties. We divide the seed slurry into two parts: the “saturation part” corresponds to the amount of solute required to establish solid–liquid equilibrium and is fully dissolved, and the “supersaturation part” involves a small amount of solid seed crystals in excess of the equilibrium saturation condition. The hypothesis states that if dissolved seed crystals have lost their surface properties (such as size, morphology, interfacial effects), the final crystal size distributions would then inherit that of the solid seed crystals. If this is true, this would provide a great and efficient shortcut for the lengthy and energy-intensive process of making up seed slurries, as product crystals from a previous batch of any size distribution could be used for the make-up of the saturation part of the seed slurry. Using adipic acid and L-glutamic acid with high and low solubilities, the hypothesis has been validated experimentally under batch conditions.