The invention relates to a method for simultaneously preparing trans-
ferulic acid, p-
coumaric acid and pentosan, which comprises the following steps:
processing a
cellulose material with a low-concentration alkali to release
coumaric acid, and hydrolyzing with a high-concentration alkali to release
ferulic acid and pentosan; ultrafiltering the alkaline hydrolytic solution, precipitating the concentrated solution with
ethanol to obtain pentosan; and adsorbing
coumaric acid and
ferulic acid in the filtrate with cation exchange resin, eluting with an
ethanol-acid-water mixed eluent, removing
ethanol from the eluent, crystallizing, centralizing or filtering the eluent at a low temperature or a normal temperature to obtain ferulic acid or coumaric acid crystals, and recrystallizing to obtain the high-purity product. The alkaline hydrolytic solution can be recovered and used for hydrolyzing the material, thereby obviating the production of a great amount of
wastewater due to the
alkaline hydrolysis. The method can produce ferulic acid and coumaric acid widely used in the industries of food,
medicine and
cosmetics, and pentosan used for producing
xylooligosaccharide as food gum by utilizing
solid wastes produced in agricultural and
food processing, thereby achieving significant economic and social meanings.