Biomass derivatives levulinic acid production

Direct conversion of cellulose in an unpurifled state has been shown in the case of levulinic acid production. Production of levulinic acid as a high-yield direct product of controlled acid hydrolysis of cellulose is an exception to the complex product slate typically produced from biomass feedstocks. While the levulinic acid is only derived from the cellulose portion of the biomass and other components end up as byproducts, technology has now been demonstrated for recovery of the levulinic acid product at yields and purity sufiident to generate market interest". Based on related research developments, levulinic acid may prove to be an important building block for... 

The liquid portion of biomass-derived process samples may also contain carbohydrate degradation products, such as 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF), levulinic acid, and furfural, as well as other components of interest, such as organic acids and sugar alcohols. Portfolio methods are available for the quantitative measurement of these degradation products and byproducts of polymer hydrolysis. 

Dahlmann, J., Hydrolytic method for the production of levulinic acid and its derivatives from biomass and sugars. Chemische Berichte 1968, 101, 4251—4253. 

The rehydration product of HMF, levulinic acid, is also regarded as a potential biomass derived organic compound [35, 39,40]. Levulinic acid could be utilized as feedstock for several large volume chemicals (Fig. 7), e.g., methyltetrahydrofuran and levulinate esters (fuel additives), delta-amino-levulinic acid (herbicide), and diphenohc acid (replacer for bisphenol A for polycarbonates). 

AE atom efficiency and F C value for common biomass primary products and some derivatives. Calculated straight from pentose or glucose-based biomass. Cell cellulose, Hcell hemicellulolse, G glucose, X xylose, Mw. molecular weight, co-r co-reagents, co-p co-products, GVL y-valerolactone, LA Levulinic acid, dimethylTHF dimethyltetrahydrofuran stoichiometry of product formation with respect to the feedstock... 

Abstract The synthesis and chemistry of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), 5-(chloromethyl)furfural (CMF), and levulinic acid (LA), three carbohydrate-derived platform molecules produced by the chemical-catalytic processing of lignocellulosic biomass, is reviewed. Starting from the historical derivation of these molecules and progressing through modem approaches to their production from biomass feedstocks, this review will then survey their principal derivative chemistries, with particular attention to aspects of commercial relevance, and discuss the relative merits of each molecule in the future of biorefining. 

Finally, the HMF rehydration and ring cleavage product levulinic acid (LA) 4, which can be produced from HMF, XMFs, or directly from biomass, has also entered into the mainstream of renewable chemistry. With its easy availability and a derivative chemistry that rivals that of the furans, LA is currently leading the charge towards commercialization within the furanics movement, and piloted approaches to its production and applications are described. 

Van de Vyver S, Thomas J, Geboers J, Keyzer S, Smet M, Dehaen W, Jacobs PA, Sels BF (2011) Catalytic production of levulinic acid from cellulose and other biomass-derived carbohydrates with sulfonated hyperbranched poly(arylene oxindole)s. Eneigy Environ Sci 4(9) 3601-3610... 

Levuhnic acid is one of the products of selective dehydration of cellulosic biomass feedstocks. Levuhnic acid is produced when six-member ring carbohydrates derived from ceUulose are subjected to acid-catalyzed dehydration conditions (Fig. 9.6) [4, 43]. The other main product of this reaction is formic acid. Although levulinic acid has some potential use as a solvent or in the production of industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals, its current market is minimal [4]. Therefore, the conversion of levulinic acid to a directly usable biofuel has become an important area of interest. In particular, esterification, oxidation, hydrogenation, reductive amination, condensation, and enzymatic conversion have been tested as potential methods to produce useful compounds from levulinic acid [4,44,45]. 

Levulinic acid (LA) is a compound derived from 5-HMF and Usted among the top 12 most promising value-added chemicals from biomass. This platform molecule is formed by dehydration in acidic media of hexoses to 5-HMF and subsequent hydration produces LA, formic acid, along with other unwanted polymerized products (humins) (Mukherjee et al., 2015). Likewise, LA can also be obtained by the hydrolysis of furfuryl alcohol (see Fig. 13.1). 

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