SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
New catalytic strategies for α,ω-diols production from lignocellulosic biomass†
Abstract
Catalytic strategies for the synthesis of 1,5-pentanediol (PDO) with 69% yield from hemicellulose and the synthesis of 1,6-hexanediol (HDO) with 28% yield from cellulose are presented. Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass (white birch wood chips) in gamma-valerolactone (GVL)/H2O generates a pure cellulose solid and a liquid stream containing hemicellulose and lignin, which is further dehydrated to furfural with 85% yield. Furfural is converted to PDO with sequential dehydration, hydration, ring-opening tautomerization, and hydrogenation reactions. Acid-catalyzed cellulose dehydration in tetrahydrofuran (THF)/H2O produces a mixture of levoglucosenone (LGO) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which are converted with hydrogen to tetrahydrofuran-dimethanol (THFDM). HDO is then obtained from hydrogenolysis of THFDM. Techno-economic analysis demonstrates that this approach can produce HDO and PDO at a minimum selling price of $4090 per ton.
- This article is part of the themed collection: Bio-resources: feeding a sustainable chemical industry
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