Influence of green solvent on levulinic acid production from lignocellulosic paper waste
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Lignocellulosic wastes constitute a significant portion of the municipal solid waste, which should be valorised for the synthesis of value-added chemicals to achieve circular bioeconomy. This study evaluates the use of -valerolactone (GVL) and acetone as green co-solvents to produce levulinic acid (LA) from lignocellulosic paper towel waste, at different temperatures using dilute H2SO4. At highest reaction temperature (200°C), water alone as a reaction medium achieved ~15 Cmol% LA at maximum. while A mixture of GVL and water (GVL/H2O) enhanced the depolymerization of paper towel waste and the subsequent conversion to LA, with the highest yield amounted to ~32 Cmol%. Acetone/H2O solvent system generated 17 Cmol% LA at a relatively lower temperature of 180°C, and higher temperature-induced polymerization of soluble sugars and/or intermediates, hindering further conversion to LA. In contrast, the availability of soluble sugars tended to be higher in the GVL/H2O system, which favoured the production of LA.
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Fields of Research::40 - Engineering::4011 - Environmental engineering::401106 - Waste management, reduction, reuse and recycling