Liquefaction of metal-contaminated giant reed biomass in acidified ethylene glycol system： Batch experiments

Giant reed is a suitable pioneer plant for metal-contaminated soil phytoremediation,however,it is imperative to dispose the metal-contaminated biomass after harvesting.The liquefaction of metal-contaminated giant reed biomass in ethylene glycol system with sulfuric acid as catalyst for the precursors of polyurethane compounds was studied.The results show that giant reed biomass from metal-contaminated soil is potentially liquefied and significantly affected by solvent/solid ratio,liquefaction temperature and liquefaction time （P〈0.05）.The liquefaction rate of biomass in acidified ethylene glycol system can reach 85.2% with optimized conditions of 60 min,170 ℃,3% sulfuric acid and solvent/biomass ratio of 5：1.The hydroxyl value of liquefied products is of 481 mg KOH/g while reactive hydroxyl groups of them are abundant,which is promised as potential precursors for polyurethane compounds.The solvent liquefaction is a potential method to dispose the metal-contaminated biomass,however,the containing-metal liquefied products should be studied deeply in order to get the suitable precursors in future.