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Chemistry and Nature of Biofuels
Published in M.R. Riazi, David Chiaramonti, Biofuels Production and Processing Technology, 2017
Maria Joana Neiva Correia, M. Margarida Mateus, Maria Cristina Fernandes, M.R. Riazi, David Chiaramonti
Finally, levulinic acid is an organic acid containing five-carbon atoms (Figure 2.26) soluble in water. The high-temperature acid hydrolysis of hexoses produces levulinic acid and formic acid as by-products, but the acid treatment of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol also leads to the production of this compound (Brown and Brown 2014). Presently, levulinic acid finds applications in pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics, and food additives and minor uses in nylons, synthetic rubbers, and plastics. It has been identified as a critical building block to act as a precursor to chemicals, including fuel additives such as methyltetrahydrofuran and several pesticides.
Ionic Liquids for Biomass Processing
Published in Pedro Lozano, Sustainable Catalysis in Ionic Liquids, 2018
Wei-Chien Tu, Jason P. Hallett
Levulinic acid is a hydration product of HMF, though direct conversion from cellulose via catalysis is possible.131 Levulinic acid has potential applications as a fuel additive, solvent, uses in pharmaceuticals, building blocks for polymers, as well as generation of other platform chemicals.132 There are several major challenges in producing levulinic acid. One issue is the lack of selectivity, side reactions, and humin formation detracts from yields. In addition, recovery and separation of catalyst are necessary for production economic realization.
One-pot levulinic acid production from rice straw by acid hydrolysis in deep eutectic solvent
Published in Chemical Engineering Communications, 2022
Chenda Hak, Panadda Panchai, Tanawut Nutongkaew, Nurak Grisdanurak, Sarttrawut Tulaphol
Levulinic acid (LA), a multipurpose chemical platform, has been classified as one of the top value-added chemicals derived from biomass (Bozell et al. 2000). Levulinic acid is a high-valued chemical for pharmaceuticals, flavoring agents, plasticizers, solvents, other additives and cosmetics (Elumalai et al. 2016; G. Li et al. 2018). The production of levulinic acid from lignocellulose catalyzes by acid catalysts through three cascade reactions, (1) hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose, (2) dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and (3) rehydration of HMF to levulinic acid (Scheme 1) (Binder and Raines 2010; Ståhlberg et al. 2010; Choudhary et al. 2013). Although these three reactions seem simple, the complexity of the lignocellulose structure is a barrier to produce levulinic acid efficiently.
Chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass: A critical comparison between biochemical, microwave and thermochemical conversion methods
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2021
Iris K. M. Yu, Huihui Chen, Felix Abeln, Hadiza Auta, Jiajun Fan, Vitaly L. Budarin, James H. Clark, Sophie Parsons, Christopher J. Chuck, Shicheng Zhang, Gang Luo, Daniel C.W Tsang
Levulinic acid (LA) can be used as a diesel fuel additive, polymer building block, and herbicide (Mascal & Nikitin, 2010). Mineral acids such as HCl and H2SO4 are the most common catalysts for converting lignocellulosic biomass to LA. Tukacs et al. obtained a maximum LA yield of 8.6 wt% from hazelnut shells under conventional heating at 170 °C for 8 h, using dilute H2SO4 as a catalyst. The LA yield achieved 12 wt% by using microwave heating for only 0.5 h (Tukacs et al., 2017). Licursi et al. used HCl in the conversion of giant reed, yielding LA of 24 wt% after 1 h of reaction at 190 °C (Licursi et al., 2015). Wheat straw is another promising and popular feedstock, which yielded 20 wt% LA in the presence of H2SO4 under the best experimental conditions (209 °C, 38 min) (Chang et al., 2007). Similarly in the presence of H2SO4, Helianthus tuberosus L. substrate gave optimal amounts of 323 g LA/kg at 185 °C for 34 min (Jeong, 2015).
xNi–yCu–ZrO2 catalysts for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid to gamma valorlactone
Published in Catalysis, Structure & Reactivity, 2018
Daniel R. Jones, Sarwat Iqbal, Liam Thomas, Satoshi Ishikawa, Christian Reece, Peter J. Miedziak, David J. Morgan, Jonathan K. Bartley, David J. Willock, Wataru Ueda, Graham J. Hutchings
Utilisation of biomass for the production of fuel and chemicals has become an important research topic because of growing concerns about the finite nature of fossil carbon reserves and the environmental impact of our continued dependence on these resources. Recently, levulinic acid (LA) was included in a list of the “Top 10” building blocks for future biorefineries as proposed by the US department of energy [1]. LA is considered one of the most important platform molecules for the production of fine chemicals and fuels [2] based on its compatibility with existing processes, market economics, industrial viability and ability to serve as a platform for the synthesis of important derivatives. Hydrogenation of LA to produce γ-valerolactone (GVL) is an active area of research due to the potential of GVL to be used as a biofuel in its own right and for its subsequent transformation into hydrocarbon fuels [3]. The hydrogenation of LA to GVL has been reported using both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts [4,5]. Re, Ru, Pd, and Pt have been the generally explored precious metal heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of GVL from LA with a particular focus on Ru due to its excellent performance for the liquid phase hydrogenation of this substrate [6–9]. High turnover numbers can also be achieved using well dispersed Pd nanoparticles deposited on SiO2 supports [10]. Ir on polymer supports [11], Sn/SBA-15 [12] and Pt–Pd/SBA-15 [13] have also been identified as active catalysts for this hydrogenation reaction.