The depolymerisation of lignin directly in the black liquor was studied, comparing two ionic liquids as extracting solvents (butylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate and triethylammonium hydrogen sulphate), under oxidising conditions. H₂O₂ was chosen as the oxidant agent. It was observed that lignins derived from butylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate were more susceptible to degradation. The main degradation products found in the extracted oils were aromatic acids, such as vanillic acid, benzoic acid and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid.

Oxidative depolymerization of lignin obtained from pine and willow can be achieved in a novel system encompassing the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butylimidazolium hydrogensulfate coupled with a vanadium based polyoxometalate (POM) under oxygen rich conditions. Along with an array of phenols and functionalized aromatics, vanillin and syringaldehyde were the main products extracted from the IL. The overall yield of aldehyde products were shown to be higher on lignin samples obtained with shorter pretreatment times, with vanillin being the exclusive aldehyde product obtained from pine. In the presence of molecular oxygen, the highest yield of aldehyde products was obtained when 5 wt % of the POM relative to the IL was employed and constituted the major product in the extracted oils. This system succeeds in exploiting the ability of ILs to depolymerize lignin and the remarkable properties of the POM to oxidize the lignin fragments into useful platform chemicals.