Upgrading lignin macromolecular by green and recyclable ternary deep eutectic solvents

[Display omitted] •A ternary DES was prepared, explored and compared with binary ones.•Microwave-assisted DES pretreatment was applied for lignin processing.•Lignin has been improved such as purity, dispersity and thermal stability.•The interaction between ternary DES and lignin was analyzed by MD simulation.•Dissolution mechanism of microwave-assisted ternary DES on lignin was proposed. Lignin is the most abundant natural aromatic macromolecule in the nature, but its high value-added utilization has been seriously hindered by the highly random and branched structures and the high difficulty in separation and purification. A microwave-assisted ternary deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed by formic acid, lactic acid and choline chloride was developed for lignin pretreatment. The effects of three types of DES on main characteristics of lignin were investigated, and the corresponding dissolution mechanism was proposed. The results showed that, the microwave-assisted ternary DES pretreatment showed an obvious improvement on main characteristics of regenerated lignin, e.g., a higher purity, lower molecular weight with reduced dispersity, improved thermal stability, higher phenolic hydroxyl content, and increased antioxidative activity in comparison with control. It is expected that the lignin macromolecular can be facile regulated and upgraded by the proposed ternary DES.