Selective saccharification of crude glycerol pretreated sugarcane bagasse via fast pyrolysis: Reaction kinetics and life cycle assessment

[Display omitted] •Recalcitrance in sugarcane bagasse is ameliorated by glycerol pretreatment.•Crude glycerol pretreatment boosts pyrolytic saccharification of sugarcane bagasse.•Crude glycerol pretreatment limits the production of aromatic inhibitors to biocatalysts.•Thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis disclose levoglucosan formation mechanisms.•Life cycle assessment suggests that the environmental impacts were less. Saccharification is a pivotal step in the conversion of lignocellulose to biofuels and chemicals. In this study, crude glycerol derived from biodiesel production was used in pretreatment to facilitate efficient and clean pyrolytic saccharification of sugarcane bagasse. Delignification, demineralization, destruction of lignin-carbohydrate complex structure, and cellulose crystallinity improvement in crude glycerol pretreated biomass could enhance levoglucosan producing reactions against competitive reactions, and therefore facilitate a kinetically controlled pyrolysis with apparent activation energy increased by 2-fold. Accordingly, selective levoglucosan production (44.4%) was promoted by 6-fold whilst light oxygenates and lignin monomers were limited to