Dutta SYu IKMTsang DCWSu ZHu CWu KCWYip ACKOk YSPoon CS2021-09-072021-09-072019Dutta S, Yu IKM, Tsang DCW, Su Z, Hu C, Wu KCW, Yip ACK, Ok YS, Poon CS (2019). Influence of green solvent on levulinic acid production from lignocellulosic paper waste. Bioresource Technology. Volume 298, February 2020, 122544https://hdl.handle.net/10092/18143Lignocellulosic 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.enCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives LicenseWaste valorisationlignocellulosic biomasssustainable biorefineryγ-valerolactoneJournal Article2019-12-02Fields of Research::40 - Engineering::4004 - Chemical engineeringFields of Research::40 - Engineering::4011 - Environmental engineering::401106 - Waste management, reduction, reuse and recyclinghttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122544