Continuous Processing of Lignin for Reduced Solvent Usage in Reductive Catalytic Fractionation

Described herein are devices and methods for the efficient and economic generation of lignin monomers from biomass. The provided devices and methods utilize reductive catalytic fractionation with an organic solvent to extract high-quality lignin from biomass and cleave specific lignin bonds to generate valuable lignin monomers with a relatively narrow product slate. Advantageously, the devices and methods described herein utilize solvent recycling, multiple solvolysis chambers with multiple biomass beds and/or physical agitation (e.g., use of a screw extruder) to reduce the amount of solvent required and increase economic efficiency and monomer yield.