Optimizing yield and chemical compositions of dimethylsulfoxide-extracted birchwood xylan

Dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO)extraction is commonly used to study the chemical structures of orig-inal xylan in the plant cell wall,since the DMSO can preserve the original structure of the xylan as much as possible during the extracting process.In addition,the DMSO-extracted xylans have unique properties allowing their potential applications in emulsifying or filming materials.How-ever,the yield of DMSO-extracted xylan is always low and the effects of different DMSO extraction conditions on the chemical compositions of xylan have not been fully studied,which greatly hin-ders its researches and applications.In this study,we have found that extensive delignification before DMSO extraction results in destruction of lignin-carbohydrate complex(LCC),leading to xylan yield and xylose unit content increased by up to 220%and 20%,respectively.Tert-butanol washing of the holocellulose can further increase the DMSO extracted xylan yield by∼10%.The yield of xylan extracted by the DMSO at 80°C for 7 h was obviously higher than that at room temperature for 3 d by 30%-40%.Thermal analysis showed that the xylans extracted at differ-ent conditions had thermal stability without obvious differences.The results indicate that the DMSO-extracted xylan with a high yield,a high purity and a high degree of acetylation can be ex-tracted at a high delignification level,a high reaction temperature and a short reaction time.This study is of great significance for studying xylan structure-property relationships and promoting the applications of DMSO-extracted xylan.