Abstract
The acidic ionic liquid 1-(3-sulfopropyl)-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([C3SO3Hmim]HSO4) was employed as a catalyst for manufacturing polysaccharide-derived products (soluble hemicellulose-derived saccharides, furans, and/or organic acids) from Eucalyptus globulus wood. Operation was performed in aqueous media supplemented with [C3SO3Hmim]HSO4 and methyl isobutyl ketone, following two different processing schemes: one-pot reaction or the solubilization of hemicelluloses by hydrothermal processing followed by the separate manufacture of the target compounds from both hemicellulose-derived saccharides and cellulose. Depending on the operational conditions, the one-pot reaction could be directed to the formation of furfural (at molar conversions up to 92.6%), levulinic acid (at molar conversions up to 45.8%), or mixtures of furfural and levulinic acid (at molar conversions up to 81.3% and 44.8%, respectively). In comparison, after hydrothermal processing, the liquid phase (containing hemicellulose-derived saccharides) yielded furfural at molar conversions near 78%, whereas levulinic acid was produced from the cellulose-enriched, solid phase at molar conversions up to 49.5%.
Highlights
Mankind is facing key challenges related to environmental issues and sustainability, caused by the massive utilization of fossil resources, which currently provide more than 90% of our energy needs and feedstocks of the chemical industry [1]
The literature has considered the utilization of AIL as reaction media and/or as catalysts for obtaining platform chemicals from a number of substrates, including sugars, hemicellulose-derived saccharides, purified polysacharides, lignocellulosic biomass (LB)-derived fractions, and native LB
Under the considered operational conditions, little conversion of cellulose into LevA was achieved, which is ascribed to the limited acidity of the catalyst. [C3SO3 Hmim]HSO4 and [C4SO3 Hmim]HSO4, two AIL of enhanced acidity have been successfully employed for processing purified cellulose and native LB
Summary
Mankind is facing key challenges related to environmental issues and sustainability, caused by the massive utilization of fossil resources, which currently provide more than 90% of our energy needs and feedstocks of the chemical industry [1]. The development of new processes based on renewable vegetal biomass (the most important source of organic carbon on earth) as a feedstock is one of the strategic ways pointed out to deal with these problems. In this field, the “lignocellulose biorefinery” concept, based on the selective separation of the major components making part of lignocellulosic biomass (LB), allows the manufacture of diverse bio-based platform chemicals, including furans and levulinic acid. Hardwoods possess a high content of structural components (typically, about 90 wt %), with a hemicellulose fraction mainly made up of heteroxylan
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