Heterogeneous aspects of acid hydrolysis of α-cellulose

Hydrolysis of α-cellulose by H₂SO₄ is a heterogeneous reaction. As such the reaction is influenced by physical factors. The hydrolysis reaction is therefore controlled not only by the reaction conditions (acid concentration and temperature) but also by the physical state of the cellulose. As evidence of this, the reaction rates measured at the high-temperature region (above 200°C) exhibited a sudden change in apparent activation energy at a certain temperature, deviating from Arrhenius law. Furthermore, α-cellulose, once it was dissolved into concentrated H₂SO₄ and reprecipitated, showed a reaction rate two orders of magnitude higher than that of untreated cellulose, about the same magnitude as cornstarch. The α-cellulose when treated with a varying level of H₂SO₄ underwent an abrupt change in physical structure (fibrous form to gelatinous form) at about 65% H₂SO₄. The sudden shift of physical structure and reaction pattern in response to acid concentration and temperature indicates that the main factor causing the change in cellulose structure is disruption of hydrogen bonding. Finding effective means of disrupting hydrogen bonding before or during the hydrolysis reaction may lead to a novel biomass saccharification process.     

Silica sulfuric acid-catalyzed expeditious environment-friendly hydrolysis of carboxylic acid esters under microwave irradiation

Silica sulfuric acid was found to be an efficient, recoverable, reusable and environment-friendly catalyst for the fast hydrolysis of various carboxylic acid esters in high conversions and selectivities under microwave irradiation conditions. This protocol has the advantages of no corrosion, no environmental pollution, high reaction rate, high yield, and simple work-up procedure.     

Cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis models for application to current and novel pretreatment processes

Acids catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose to produce sugars that organisms can ferment to ethanol and other products. However, advanced low- and no-acid technologies are critical if we are to reduce bioethanol costs to be competitive as a pure fuel. We believe carbohy drate oligomers play a key role in explaining the performance of such hydrolysis processes and that kinetic models would help us understand their role. Various investigations have developed reaction rate expressions based on an Arrhenius temperature dependence that is first order in substrate concentration and close to first order in acid concentration. In this article, we evaluate these existing hydrolysis models with the goal of providing a foundation for a unified model that can predict performance of both current and novel pretreatment process configurations.     

Cellulose sulfuric acid as a bio-supported and recyclable solid acid catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 2,4,5-triarylimidazoles under microwave irradiation

Abstract

A simple, rapid, and highly efficient method has been attempted for the three-component condensation of benzil/benzoin, aldehydes, and ammonium acetate under microwave irradiation in the presence of a catalytic amount of bio-supported cellulose sulfuric acid under solvent-free conditions to afford the 2,4,5-triarylimidazole derivatives. The catalyst is easily prepared, inexpensive, separated simply by filtration, gives excellent yield of products with shorter reaction times, and is recyclable several times.     

Cellulose dissolution in lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide solvent system: Relevance of kinetics of decrystallization to cellulose derivatization under homogeneous solution conditions

Rate constants and activation parameters for decrystallization of Avicel PH-101 cellulose, and bagasse-based cellulose in presence of LiCl/N,N-dimethylacetamide solvent system have been determined from dependence of the index of crystallinity of cellulose, Ic, on time, under nonisothermal conditions. Calculated rate constants and activation parameters are negligibly dependent on the degree of polymerization of the natural polymer. Under experimental conditions used, derivatization of cellulose can be started after 3 h of cellulose–solvent contact. The relevance of our results to the industrial application of derivatization under homogeneous solution conditions is discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3738–3744, 1999     

An extension of the Harano-Ooshima rate expression for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to account for changes in the amount of adsorbed cellulase

Three empirical rate expressions, Kinetics I, II, and III, for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose were evaluated in an effort to develop a easy-to-use rate expression. They are based on the following equation:-dV/dX = kV, where V and X are the hydrolysis rate and the fractional conversion. In Kinetic I,k is constant. In Kinetic II, a linear relatinship betweenk and t is assumed. In Kinetic III, an exponential relationship is assumed. The three expressions were applied to enzymatic hydrolysis carried out under seven different conditions in which the kinds of substrates, enzymes, and initial concentrations were varied. All of the examined rate expressions were applied to the hydrolysis with success, but the better accuracies were obtained by Kinetic III, Kinetic II, and Kinetic I in this order. The variations ofk with time found in this study, especially the exponential relationship, were consistent with the effect of the measured changes in the concentration of adsorbed enzyme as predicted by theory developed previously by Ooshima et al. (1).     

A comprehensive kinetic model for dilute-acid hydrolysis of cellulose

Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis is controlled not only by temperature and acid concentration but also by the physical state of the cellulose. Under low temperature and acid condition the cellulose structure stays in stable crystalline form. Therefore, the prevailing reaction mode is endwise hydrolysis. Glucose then becomes the main sugar product. However, when temperature and/or acid concentration is raised to a certain level, the cellulose structure becomes unstable by breakage of hydrogen bonding, the primary force that holds the cellulose chains. Once the crystalline structure of the cellulose is disrupted, acid molecules can penetrate into the inner layers of the cellulose chains. In support of this hypothesis, we have experimentally verified that a substantial amount of oligomers is formed as reaction intermediates under extremely low-acid and high-temperature conditions. We also found that the breakage of hydrogen bonds occurs rather abruptly in response to temperature. One such condition is 210°C, 0.07% H₂SO₄. Glucose, once it is formed in the hydrolysate, interacts with acid-soluble lignin, forming a lignin-carbohydrate complex. This occurs concurrently with other reactions involving glucose such as decomposition and reversion. On the basis of these findings, a comprehensive kinetic model is proposed. This model is in full compliance with our recent experimental data obtained under a broad range of reaction conditions.     

The kinetics of vapor-phase nitration of cellulose 2. Nitration with nitric acid under static conditions

The regularities of vapor-phase nitration of cellulose with HNO₃ under conditions of natural convection and hindered heat removal in the absence of air were studied using the nonisothermal kinetic method. It was established that the nitration rate at the depth of conversion of 0.08 to 0.7 is described by the kinetic law d/dt =k ₁ p/(1+), wherek ₁ = 10^4.49±0.6 exp(–A/RT) s^–1 atm^–1, = 10^{–35.5±15.7}exp(B/RT),A = 36.6±3.8 kl mol^–1, andB = 203±88 kJ mol^–1. The diffusion mechanism of vapor-phase nitration of cellulose, which explains the high value of activation energies, is discussed. The effective diffusion coefficient of HNO₃ in cellulose at 25 °3.7 · 10^–7 cm² s^–1) and the activation energy of diffusion (38.3±4.2 kJ mol^–1) were estimated.For Part 1, see Ref. l.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1981–1985, August, 1996.     

Acid hydrolysis of some industrial pulps: effect of hydrolysis conditions and raw material

Dilute acid hydrolysis of pulps was studied by following the decrease in intrinsic viscosity of preparations of microcrystalline cellulose. The decrease in intrinsic viscosity and the loss of weight during hydrolysis at reaction temperatures of 60 and 80 °C was investigated, using acid concentrations from 0.5 to 4 M and two different acids (HCl and H₂SO₄). The same levelling-off degree of polymerisation (LODP) was reached under all hydrolysis conditions, but a longer time was needed under milder conditions. An appropriate method of determining the intrinsic viscosity at LODP was established and used in this investigation. The greatest difference in LODP was found between a birch prehydrolysed kraft pulp and a mixed hardwood prehydrolysed kraft pulp; the intrinsic viscosities at LODP being 178 and 72 dm³/kg, respectively. The effect of the intrinsic viscosity of a given starting material was also investigated, but only a small difference (10%) in the LODP was found for pulp samples with very different initial intrinsic viscosities.     

制备单细胞蛋白的玉米芯原料酸水解催化剂选择与多目标优化

我国每年玉米收割后的副产物——玉米芯的量约2000万吨,是非常宝贵的可再生资源。     

聚醚桥连二异羟肟酸配合物催化羧酸酯水解的动力学研究

研究羧酸酯和磷酸酯的水解在环境和生物应用等方面具有越来越重要的意义。为实现对环境友好、高经济效益的生产过程,许多研究者致力于研发反应条件温和、催化效率高和高度专一性的催化剂。因而,仿酶研究倍受人们的关注,其中,水解金属酶是被研究得较为广泛的一类。我们曾报道过异羟肟酸过渡金属配合物仿生催化氧化性能和二氧亲合性能。本文我们将4种聚醚桥连二异羟肟酸过渡金属铜（Ⅱ）、锌（Ⅱ）、钴（Ⅱ）和锰（Ⅱ）配合物（见图1）作为仿水解酶模型,在底物浓度高于催化剂浓度10倍以上的条件下,研究了配合物在缓冲溶液中催化α-吡啶甲酸对硝基苯酯（PNPP）的水解反应的机理,并建立了相应的动力学数学模型;考查了配合物中心金属离子、溶液酸度和反应温度等对催化PNPP水解反应性能的影响。     

Effect of sulfuric and phosphoric acid pretreatments on enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover

The pretreatment of corn stover with H₂SO₄ and H₃PO₄ was investigated. Pretreatments were carried out from 30 to 120 min in a batch reactor at 121°C, with acid concentrations ranging from 0 to 2% (w/v) at a solid concentration of 5% (w/v). Pretreated corn stover was washed with distilled water until the filtrate was adjusted to pH 7.0, followed by surfactant swelling of the cellulosic fraction in a 0–10% (w/v) solution of Tween-80 at room temperature for 12 h. The dilute acid treatment proved to be a very effective method in terms of hemicellulose recovery and cellulose digetibility. Hemicellulose recovery was 62–90%, and enzymatic digestibility of the cellulose that remained in the solid was >80% with 2% (w/v) acid. In all cases studied, the performance of H₂SO₄ pretreatment (hemicellulose recovery and cellulose digestibility) was significantly better than obtained with H₃PO₄. Enzymatic hydrolysis was more effective using surfactant than without it, producing 10–20% more sugar. Furthermore, digestibility was investigated as a function of hemicellulose removal. It was found that digestibility was more directly related to hemicellulose removal than to delignification.     

Variation of S/G ratio and lignin content in a Populus family influences the release of xylose by dilute acid hydrolysis

Wood samples from second generation Populus cross were shown to have different lignin contents and S/G ratios (S: syringyl-like lignin structures; G: guaiacyl-like lignin structures). The lignin contents varied from 22.7% to 25.8% and the S/G ratio from 1.8 to 2.3. Selected samples spanning these ranges were hydrolyzed with dilute (1%) sulfuric acid to release fermentable sugars. The conditions were chosen for partial hydrolysis of the hemicellulosic fraction to maximize the expression of variation among samples. The results indicated that both lignin contents and S/G ratio significantly affected the yield of xylose. For example, the xylose yield of the 25.8% lignin and 2.3 S/G (hihg lignin, high S/G) sample produced 30% of the theoretical yield, whereas the xylose yield of the 22.7% lignin and 1.8 S/G (low lignin, low S/G) was 55% of the theoretical value. These results indicate that lignin content and composition among genetic variants within a single species can influence the hydrolyzability of the biomass.     

Cellulose sulfuric acid: reusable catalyst for solvent-free synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes at room temperature

Abstract

Bis(indolyl)methanes were synthesized from indole and aldehydes under solvent-free conditions using cellulose sulfuric acid (CSA) as a catalyst at room temperature. CSA is easily prepared and it was also found that this catalyst could be recovered quantitatively and reused without much loss of catalytic activity.     

Isolation and characterization of stable nanofiber from turmeric spent using chemical treatment by acid hydrolysis and its potential as antimicrobial and antioxidant activities

Turmeric spent, a by-product of turmeric processing industries, was used as a source to prepare nanofibers (NF). The chemical treatments methods followed by acid hydrolysis accompanied with high pressure homogenization were used to prepare NF. The resulting turmeric nanofibers (TNF) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA). The TNF presented needle like structure, high thermal stability, an average width of 38.5?nm, average length of 245.7?nm, and giving an aspect ratio (L/D) of 23.15. The prepared TNF showed pronounced antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus and also registered good antioxidant activity. The results showed that TNF were successfully obtained from turmeric spent and might be potentially applied in different fields, such as pharmaceutical, biological active species, nutraceuticals, components for food industries and bionanocomposites.     

Synthesis,isolation and characterization of methyl levulinate from cellulose catalyzed by extremely low concentration acid

A direct synthesis of methyl levulinate from cellulose alcoholysis in methanol medium under mild condition (180–210 °C) catalyzed by extremely low concentration sulfuric acid (≤0.01 mol/L) and the product isolation were developed in this study. Effects of different process variables towards the catalytic performance were performed as a function of reaction time. The results indicated that sulfuric acid concentration, temperature and initial cellulose concentration had significant effects on the synthesis of methyl levulinate. An optimized yield of around 50% was achieved at 210 °C for 120 min with sulfuric acid concentration of 0.01 mol/L and initial cellulose concentration below 100 g/L. The resulting product mixture was isolated by a distillation technique that combines an atmospheric distillation with a vacuum distillation where n-dodecane was added to help distill the heavy fraction. The light fraction including mainly methanol could be reused as the reaction medium without any substantial change in the yield of methyl levulinate. The chemical composition and structural of lower heavy fraction were characterized by GC/MS, FTIR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR techniques. Methyl levulinate was found to be a major ingredient of lower heavy fraction with the content over 96%. This pathway is efficient, environmentally benign and economical for the production of pure levulinate esters from cellulose.     

复合分子筛的合成及其在纤维素水解反应中的应用

采用水热晶化法制备了HUSY@MFI核壳结构复合分子筛。通过XRD、SEM、N_2吸附-脱附、NH_3-TPD及吡啶吸附红外等手段表征催化剂的结构和性质。结果表明,HUSY@MFI晶粒在形貌上呈椭球状,表面是鳞片状结构的MFI型分子筛,里面是光滑的HUSY型分子筛,焙烧模板剂前几乎没有或只有很少量的N_2能进入其孔道结构,致密的壳层MFI覆盖在HUSY型分子筛表面,形成了新的弱酸位,而中强酸强度和酸类型并没有受到影响,复合分子筛的表面酸量及总酸量减少。将所制备的HUSY@MFI复合分子筛催化剂应用于以离子液体1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐([Emim]Cl)为溶剂的纤维素水解反应中,与HUSY催化的纤维素水解相比,HUSY@M FI复合分子筛催化纤维素水解反应的速率较慢,葡萄糖收率由30.9%提高到41.3%。     

Mononitration of phenol derivatives by guanidinium nitrate and silica sulfuric acid under mild conditions

A mixture of guanidinium nitrate and silica sulfuric acid acts as mild and heterogeneous media for the efficient mono nitration of phenolic compounds in dichloromethane at room temperature.     

The study of model systems subjected to sub- and supercritical water hydrolysis for the production of fermentable sugars

Bioenergy obtained from lignocellulosic biomass is considered the most efficient way to achieve sustainable development in the future. However, there still are challenges in the cellulose conversion to hexoses, which could be used as raw material for the bioenergy production. Sub- and supercritical water hydrolysis have been researched as emergent technologies to obtain simple sugars from lignocellulosic biomass; however, the reaction pathways and kinetics of the hydrolysis of cellulose into oligomers and monomers, and their degradation under sub- and supercritical conditions, are not completely understood yet. Thus, this review provides an overview of the state-of-the-art on hydrolysis with sub- and supercritical water of model systems, cellulose and starch, in the context of elucidating the reaction pathways and kinetic behavior of the biomass hydrolysis to produce suitable fermentation substrates for the production of second generation bioethanol and other biofuels.     

Conversion of Cellulose and Lignin Residues into Transparent UV-Blocking Composite Films

The valorization of cellulose and lignin residues in an integrated biorefinery is of great significance to improve the overall economics but has been challenged by their structural recalcitrance, especially for lignin residue. In this work, a facile chemical conversion route to fabricating functional UV-blocking cellulose/lignin composite films through a facile dissolution–regeneration process using these biomass residues was proposed. Three representative lignin residues, i.e., aspen and poplar wood lignin, and corn stover (CS) lignin were assessed for their feasibility for the film fabrication. The UV-blocking performance of the composite films were comparatively investigated. Results showed that all these three lignin residues could enhance the UV-blocking property of the composite films, corresponding to the reduction in the optical energy band gap from 4.31 to 3.72 eV, while poplar lignin had a considerable content of chromophores and showed the best UV-blocking enhancement among these three assessing lignins. The enhancement of UV-blocking property was achieved without compromising the visible-light transparency, mechanical strength and thermal stability of the composite films even at 4% lignin loading. This work showed the high promise of integrating biomass residue conversion into lignocellulose biorefinery for a multi-production purpose.