(544x) Thermo-Catalytic Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Levoglucosenone and 5-Chloromethyl Furfural in Fluidized Bed Reactor

Lignocellulosic biomass is a renewable source for producing green products. Its cyclic constituents can be converted to commercially important bio-based chemicals. Levoglucosenone is one such chemical with the potential to replace toxic pharmaceutical solvents and become a precursor to drugs as well as polymers. Several players in the chemical industry including DuPont have patents for converting bio-based Levoglucosenone to fine and commodity chemicals. Similarly, 5-Chloromethyl furfural (5-CMF) is rapidly gaining attention as a functional equivalent of 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural. 5-CMF can be used to produce PEF and PET bottles, jet fuels, pharmaceutics and green solvents. Large scale production of these platform chemicals can provide a fillip to the bio-based chemical industry. This study demonstrates one step conversion of biomass (Pinus radiata) and cellulose to these two chemicals in a scalable fluidized bed reactor technology. In this study, a low temperature (300-500°C) thermo-catalytic process has been developed that yields ~ 19 g/L of Levoglucosenone and ~15 g/L of 5-CMF in the liquid obtained post conversion. The feedstock is fluidized using a mixture of inert gas and hydrogen chloride. Additionally, the concentration of these chemicals in the liquid can be altered by changing the concentration of the hydrogen chloride that serves both as catalyst and co-reactant. Lower concentration of the hydrogen chloride provides higher concentration of Levoglucosenone whereas higher concentration of hydrogen chloride boosts the concentration of 5-CMF in the liquid. The optimal production temperature range for obtaining higher yields of these chemicals has also been identified. This is the first study to report the concurrent production of two commercially valuable platform chemicals from biomass in a scalable fluidized bed reactor technology in one step.