Polysaccharides in plant biomass offers opportunities as feedstocks for producing fuels and chemicals.  We the use of mixtures of Lewis and Br�nsted acids to controllably depolymerize polysaccharides and dehydrate the resulting sugars at high yields.  This method achieved 80-90% yield of xylose through hydrolysis of the hemicellulose from various biomass sources (switchgrass, poplar, pine) and achieved 54-61% yield of furfural (based on original biomass).  Yields of glucose were substantially lower due to the recalcitrance of cellulose. However yields of 5-HMF from dehydration of the liberated glucose were high due to isomerization of glucose to fructose via Lewis acids, such as aluminum chloride. This hybrid approach combines pretreatment for biochemical conversion with thermochemcial processing. We present a kinetic analysis of biomass hydrolysis and formation of aldehydes and discuss application of results from pure sugars to results from biomass conversion.

Mixed acid hydrolysis and dehydration of plant cell wall polysaccharides

246th National Meeting (2013)

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