Production of xylose, levulinic acid, and lignin from spent aromatic biomass with a recyclable Brønsted acid synthesized from d-limonene as renewable feedstock from citrus waste

Abstract

This work aimed to develop a green protocol for chemical processing of spent aromatic biomass to obtain xylose, levulinic acid, and lignin in good yields via treatment with p-cymene-2-sulphonic acid (p-CSA), a Brønsted acid synthesised from d-limonene as a renewable feedstock from citrus waste. Chemical processing of palmarosa biomass with p-CSA under heating in an autoclave resulted in hydrolysate containing xylose (~16% yield). Further processing of pre-treated biomass with p-CSA in presence of aq. HCl under refluxing caused a selective degradation of cellulose to levulinic acid (~22% yield with respect to biomass). The residual biomass was used to afford lignin in good yields.