Boosting H2 yield from photoreforming of lignocellulose by thermo-alkaline hydrolysis with selective generation of a key intermediate product: Tartaric acid

Abstract

Using lignocellulosic biomass wastes to produce Hydrogen for the sustainable Hydrogen Economy can help reduce or eliminate the current heavy dependence on fossil energy. We hereby report a new pathway for H2 synthesis by simply applying commercial SrTiO3 catalyst in photoreforming processes following thermo-alkaline hydrolysis (TAH) pretreatment. Thanks to the thorough decomposition of the lignocellulosic matter under an optimized TAH condition, the obtained hydrolysate shows superior ability to produce H2. Its H2 production capacity is much better than that of TEOA and TEA, for which the cellulose hydrolysate was twice that of TEOA and 12 times that of TEA. This remarkable improvement is attributed to the selective formation of an important intermediate product, tartaric acid, which is for the first time identified as the key to enhancement of H2 generation from catalytic photoreforming processes.