(429b) The Effects of Solvent on the Mechanisms and Kinetics of Levulinic Acid Production from Biomass Using a Polymeric Acid Catalyst

Levulinic acid is one of the critical platform chemicals for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels and bio-based products. However, current conversion technology is not yet commercially viable due to the high production cost and low yield with generally less than 70%. We have developed a patented technology for converting lignocellulosic biomass into levulinic acid in one step at mild conditions with high conversion and high yield reaching over 90%. Our unique catalyst consists of two polymer chains acting synergistically to hydrolyze the biomass and convert the hydrolyzed sugars to levulinic acid. However, the product yield is strongly dependent on the solvent and solvent mixtures. Here the effect of solvent on mechanisms of levulinic acid production is elucidated using cellulose substrate. MALDI-MS combined with GC-MS was used to determine all the intermediate- and side- products. Moreover, the kinetics of the levulinic acid production and activation energies for the conversion are determined at different solvent and solvent mixtures.