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Enhanced production of levulinic acid/ester from furfural residue via pretreatment and two-stage alcoholysis

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Abstract

A two-stage alcoholysis was developed for improved conversion of furfural residue (FR) into levulinic acid (LA) and methyl levulinate (ML). Mixed acids including 0.01 M of H2SO4 and Al2(SO4)3 and methanol/water (50/50 v/v%) were identified as the suitable catalyst and reaction medium. The optimum alcoholysis conditions were 198 °C and 1.5 h for the 1st stage and then 163 °C and 1.3 h for the 2nd stage, and the maximum total yield of LA and ML can reach 25.64%. The reaction kinetics and possible conversion pathways for ML and LA production were proposed. On the basis, HCOOH/H2O2 pretreatment was screened for the pretreatment of FR, which increased the cellulose content of FR from 40.01 to 71.91%. The maximum total yield of LA and ML from pretreated FR was 44.96% under the optimum conditions of 195 °C and 1.9 h for the 1st stage and then 166 °C and 1.1 h for the 2nd stage, which was 16.09% higher than that of isothermal alcoholysis. The reusability tests showed that the Al2(SO4)3 was stable and can be reused at least 5 times. This study developed a new method for high-value utilization of FR and cleaner production of LA and ML.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (U1904122), the Program of Processing and Efficient Utilization of Biomass Resources of Henan Center for Outstanding Overseas Scientists (GZS2018004), and the open project of Henan Key Laboratory of Green Manufacturing of Biobased Chemicals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Sibo Zhao, Zihua Wang & Chun Chang

  2. Henan Key Laboratory of Green Manufacturing of Biobased Chemicals, Puyang, 457000, China

    Zihua Wang & Chun Chang

  3. School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Pan Li

  4. Henan Center for Outstanding Overseas Scientists, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Pan Li

  5. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China

    Guizhuan Xu

  6. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Shusheng Pang

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  1. Sibo Zhao
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Correspondence to Chun Chang or Guizhuan Xu.

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Zhao, S., Wang, Z., Chang, C. et al. Enhanced production of levulinic acid/ester from furfural residue via pretreatment and two-stage alcoholysis. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 2933–2946 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01307-1

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