Production of bio-ethanol by consecutive hydrogenolysis of corn-stalk cellulose

Abstract

Current bio-ethanol production entails the enzymatic depolymerization of cellulose, but this process shows low efficiency and poor economy. In this work, we developed a consecutive aqueous hydrogenolysis process for the conversion of corn-stalk cellulose to produce a relatively high concentration of bio-ethanol (6.1 wt%) without humin formation. A high yield of cellulose (ca. 50 wt%) is extracted from corn stalk using a green solvent (80 wt% 1,4-butanediol) without destroying the structure of the lignin. The first hydrothermal hydrogenolysis step uses a Ni–WOx/SiO2 catalyst to convert the high cumulative concentration of cellulose (30 wt%) into a polyol mixture with a 56.5 C% yield of ethylene glycol (EG). The original polyol mixture is then subjected to subsequent selective aqueous-phase hydrogenolysis of the C–O bond to produce bioethanol (75% conversion, 84 C% selectivity) over the modified hydrothermally stable Cu catalysts. The added Ni component favors the good dispersion of Cu nanoparticles, and the incorporated Au3+ helps to stabilize the active Cu0-Cu+ species. This multi-functional catalytic process provides an economically competitive route for the production of cellulosic ethanol from raw lignocellulose.