IP Library › Granted Patent US 12692285
Granted Patent B2
US 12692285 · App. 17/686,725 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Method and an apparatus for washing a crude lignin, a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction, a solid fraction and their use

Inventors: Sami Turunen (Lappeenranta, FI); Juha Tamper (Levänen, FI)
Assignee: UPM-KYMMENE CORPORATION
C07G1/00B01D12/00B01D33/04B01D33/64C07H1/08
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12692285
App. No.
17/686,725
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for washing a crude lignin slurry ( 5 ) formed from plant based raw material, wherein the method comprises separating a soluble carbohydrate containing fraction ( 10 ) from the crude lignin slurry ( 5 ) by using displacement washing in at least one solid-liquid separation stage ( 6 ) so that the crude lignin slurry is prepressed, washed and pressed, and recovering a solid fraction ( 11 ) and the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction ( 10 ). Further, the invention relates to the soluble carbohydrate containing fraction and the solid fraction, and their uses.

Claims (17)

1 . A method for washing a composition that is formed from plant-based raw material including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the method comprising:

forming the composition by at least a steam-explosion step and a hydrolysis step on the plant-based raw material, the composition including solid lignin and a soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction;

filtering the soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction from the solid lignin in the composition to form a cake that includes the solid lignin so as to recover a portion of the soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction; and

by use of a filter press, conducting a displacement washing process to recover an additional portion of the soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction from the cake, the displacement washing process comprising:

prepressing the cake in the presence of pressure between 4 and 10 bar;

flowing a washing liquid through the cake; and

after the flowing, pressing the cake in the presence of pressure between 7 and 16 bar.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the flowing the washing liquid through the cake is in the presence of pressure between 6 and 7 bar.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction comprises soluble C5 carbohydrates.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the soluble carbohydrate-containing fraction comprises soluble C6 carbohydrates.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the composition further includes lignocellulose particles.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysis step is an acid-hydrolysis step that occurs before the steam-explosion step.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the acid-hydrolysis step is a dilute-acid hydrolysis step.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysis step is an enzymatic hydrolysis step.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the composition further includes cellulose particles.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering is performed by the filter press.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the filter press arranged in a horizontal plane.