1 research outputs found
Cellulose Hydrolysis Using Oxidized Carbon Catalyst in a Plug-Flow Slurry Process
The
catalytic conversion of cellulose to glucose at the industrial
scale is a sustainable approach to the production of fuels and chemicals.
Herein, we report the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose using an
inexpensive carbon catalyst in a continuous slurry process. A carbon
catalyst prepared by air oxidation showed the highest activity for
cellulose hydrolysis owing to the large number of weakly acidic functional
groups. The air-oxidized carbon catalyst hydrolyzed cellulose in a
plug-flow slurry reactor after mix-milling to produce soluble β-1,4-glucans.
Further hydrolysis of the β-1,4-glucans to glucose was achieved
using a fixed-bed reactor containing Amberlyst-70 catalyst in series
with the slurry reactor to obtain glucose in 59% yield. Another approach
was to use dilute H<sub>3</sub>PO<sub>4</sub> for the hydrolysis of
the β-1,4-glucans to glucose with a 70% yield, resulting in
a space time yield of glucose of 456 kg m<sup>–3</sup> h<sup>–1</sup>. The simple design, short residence time, and high
space time yield will enable the scaleup of this process using existing
chemical technology