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- Title
A Biorefinery Cascade Conversion of Hemicellulose-Free Eucalyptus Globulus Wood: Production of Concentrated Levulinic Acid Solutions for γ-Valerolactone Sustainable Preparation.
- Authors
Rivas, Sandra; Raspolli Galletti, Anna Maria; Antonetti, Claudia; Licursi, Domenico; Santos, Valentín; Parajó, Juan Carlos
- Abstract
<italic>Eucalyptus globulus</italic> wood samples were subjected to preliminary aqueous processing to remove water-soluble extractives and hemicelluloses, and the resulting solid (mainly made up of cellulose and lignin) was employed as a substrate for converting the cellulosic fraction into mixtures of levulinic and formic acid through a sulfuric acid-catalyzed reaction. These runs were carried out in a microwave-heated reactor at different temperatures and reaction times, operating in single-batch or cross-flow modes, in order to identify the most favorable operational conditions. Selected liquid phases deriving from these experiments, which resulted in concentrated levulinic acid up to 408 mmol/L, were then employed for γ-valerolactone production by levulinc acid hydrogenation in the presence of the commercial 5% Ru/C catalyst. In order to assess the effects of the main reaction parameters, hydrogenation experiments were performed at different temperatures, reaction times, amounts of ruthenium catalyst and hydrogen pressure. Yields of γ-valerolactone in the range of 85–90 mol % were obtained from the hydrogenation of the wood-derived solutions containing levulinic acid, obtained by single-batch operation or by the cross-flow process. The negative effect of co-produced formic acid present in crude levulinic acid solutions was evidenced and counteracted efficiently by allowing the preliminary thermal decomposition of formic acid itself.
- Subjects
EUCALYPTUS globulus; KETONIC acids; HEMICELLULOSE; LACTONES; CROSS-flow reactors; SULFURIC acid
- Publication
Catalysts (2073-4344), 2018, Vol 8, Issue 4, p169
- ISSN
2073-4344
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/catal8040169