Levulinic Acid from Biomass: Synthesis and Applications
Levulinic acid (LA) is a promising platform chemical that can be obtained from biomass. The potential to obtain useful chemical derivatives from levulinic acid is high due to the presence of both a ketone group and a carboxylic acid group. The synthesis o
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Levulinic Acid from Biomass: Synthesis and Applications Buana Girisuta and Hero Jan Heeres Abstract Levulinic acid (LA) is a promising platform chemical that can be obtained from biomass. The potential to obtain useful chemical derivatives from levulinic acid is high due to the presence of both a ketone group and a carboxylic acid group. The synthesis of LA on the laboratory scale has been investigated extensively using homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. The highest reported yields of LA from monosaccharides, polysaccharides and lignocellulosic biomass and their reaction conditions are summarized in this chapter. In addition, an overview is given on process technology studies including kinetic models and the status of large scale production of LA from biomass. Levulinic acid derivatives and their application will be presented along with future prospects of LA synthesis in biorefineries. Keywords Biomass hydrolysis • 5-hydroxymethylfurfural • Catalysis
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5.1 Introduction The world consumption of fossil resources has increased rapidly the last 3 decades (Fig. 5.1). Total consumption of fossil resources in 2012 was almost twice the consumption in 1980. Several studies have projected that the world consumption of fossil resources will increase to 640 quadrillion BTU in 2040. These fossil resources are consumed to fulfill our energy needs, to produce transportation fuels and to manufacture a wide range of modern products like polymers, resins, textiles, lubricants and fertilizers.
B. Girisuta (*) Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island 627833, Singapore e-mail: [email protected] H.J. Heeres Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen 9747, AG, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 Z. Fang et al. (eds.), Production of Platform Chemicals from Sustainable Resources, Biofuels and Biorefineries 7, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4172-3_5
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World Consumption of Fossil Resources (Quadrillion (1015) Btu)
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Fig. 5.1 The world consumption of fossil resources 1980–2012 and its projection until 2040 (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), May 2016, acknowledgement is given to EIA) [1]
Fossil resources are not-renewable and their availability is irrevocably decreasing. Biomass-based technologies can provide alternative sustainable routes for the production of liquid transportation fuels and platform chemicals [2–5]. One of the platform chemicals that can be produced from sustainable resources is levulinic acid (LA). LA is accessible through the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass at elevated temperatures (100–250 °C) using acid catalysts. The applications of LA and its derivatives have been widely reviewed [6–10]. Lignocellulosic biomass consists of three main
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