Impact of cellulose treatment with hydrotalcites in hydrothermal catalytic conversion

Identifier:  imarina:4079807

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina4079807

Authors:  Guarin, Carlos; Gavila, Llorenc; Constanti, Magda; Medina, Francesc

Abstract:
The depletion of oil reserves pushes the development of platform chemicals from biomass, as an alternative for the sustainable progress of the chemical industry. Cellulose, which is the main component of biomass, is widely studied for its conversion into value-added chemicals. However, due to its recalcitrant nature, hydrolysis of cellulose with solid alkali catalysts still remains a challenge. Thus, the conversion of cellulose using hydrotalcites as catalyst was investigated. For this purpose, hydrotalcites were deposited on cellulose fibers and their catalytic behavior was tested at 180 °C, for 1 h, using microwave reactor (300 W). Hydrotalcites proved to efficiently convert cellulose into value-added products such as lactic, acetic, formic and glycolic acids. Catalysts were characterized by X-Ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy and BET surface area analysis. The best conversion yield of up to 30% was obtained over calcined hydrotalcites at 400 °C. The basic properties of the hydrotalcite materials have an important effect on the activity. Hence, in this study hydrotalcites are presented as a promising catalyst for cellulose hydrolysis.