Cellulose Conversion to Sugar Alcohol by Solution Plasma Processing
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Cellulose Conversion to Sugar Alcohol by Solution Plasma Processing Anyarat Watthanaphanit1,2,*, Hoonseung Lee2, and Nagahiro Saito1,2,3 1 Social Innovation Design Center (SIDC), Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan 2 Department of Materials, Physics and Energy Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan 3 Green Mobility Collaborative Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan ABSTRACT Cellulose was selectively converted to sugar alcohols (sorbitol and mannitol) over a supported-metal catalyst ruthenium on carbon (Ru/C) by the application of plasma in cellulose aqueous suspension. Generally, conversion of cellulose to sugar alcohol should be done under H2 pressure and high temperature. The goal of using solution plasma process (SPP) in this study is to initiate “self-hydrogenation” by reactive hydrogen species generated from the plasma due to dissociation of water medium. The sugar alcohols were produced at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric analysis indicates that the SPP is a potent tool to promote the conversion of cellulose to sugar alcohols. INTRODUCTION Currently, obtaining energy and chemicals in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner has been the target of many researchers since the energy and the environment are crucial for human race. Conversion of biomass has been considered as one of the most important potential approach because of its inexhaustible and carbon-neutral properties. The most abundant and inedible biomass is cellulose which generally accounts for 30–60 wt% of dried plants. However, the efficient chemical transformation of cellulose has remained a challenge because of its robust crystal structure with extensive intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, leading to high chemical stability and insolubility in most solvents [1]. Much effort has been devoted for cellulose conversion, such as fermentation with enzymes to produce ethanol, thermopyrolysis to bio-oils and syn-gas, and hydrolysis with dilute acids in ionic liquids to yield oligomers and glucose. Another alternative green process for cellulose conversion is to use supported metal catalysts to convert cellulose to sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and mannitol, in an aqueous solution. Sorbitol is a useful precursor for the synthesis of several important substances such as bioethanol, glycerol, and sweetener. Conventionally, the production process for sorbitol is done via the “hydrolytic hydrogenation” of cellulose [2]. Previously, our group has demonstrated that the solution plasma process (SPP) is effective for the depolymerization of carbohydrate polymers such as alginate and chitosan [3, 4]. It is observed that, by applying the plasma in the aqueous solution of these polymers, active species generated from the disintegration of water molecules (e.g. H•, O•, OH•, H*, and O*) are the key factors of the polymer decomposing. Our preliminary experiments on the decompositio
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