Sustainable methodologies for converting renewable biomass solids to chemicals have the potential to reduce industrial dependence on petroleum-based feedstocks while easing the atmospheric carbon dioxide burden. Of particular interest would be procedures for the efficient and selective depolymerization of lignin, the second most plentiful component of non-food biomass and a potential renewable source of aromatics. Previously, we have reported the one-pot, quantitative conversions of lignin, wood or cellulosic solids to liquid and gaseous products catalyzed by copper-doped porous metal oxides (PMOs), composed of Earth-abundant materials. The reaction medium is super-critical methanol and notably, little or no char is formed during this transformation. The product is a complex mixture primarily composed of aliphatic alcohols suitable, in principle, as liquid fuel. This presentation will describe ongoing efforts by CenSURF researchers to elucidate the mechanisms of the lignin disassembly catalyzed by the Cu-doped PMOs and to refine this process toward more selective pathways and higher-value platform chemicals.We acknowledge support by the Center for the Sustainable Use of Renewable Feedstocks (CenSURF), a National Science Foundation CCI (CHE-1240194)

Studies of the reductive disassembly of lignin and lignocellulose using Earth-abundant catalysts

248th National Meeting (2014)

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