Renewable Resources Robert-Jan van Putten,†,‡ Jan C. van der Waal,† Ed de Jong,*,† Carolus B. Rasrendra,‡,⊥ Hero J. Heeres,*,‡ and Johannes G. de Vries* †Avantium Chemicals, Zekeringstraat 29, 1014 BV Amsterdam, the Netherlands ‡Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, the Netherlands DSM Innovative Synthesis BV, P.O. Box 18, 6160 MD Geleen, the Netherlands Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia

Hydroxymethylfurfural, A Versatile Platform Chemical Made from Renewable Resources

https://courses.washington.edu/cfr523/documents/Alonso2010CatalyticConversion.pdf

Catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels

: The unpolarized absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the fundamental vibrational transitions of the chiral molecule, 4-methyl-2-oxetanone, are calculated ab initio. Harmonic force fields are obtained using Density Functional Theory (DFT), MP2, and SCF methodologies and a 5S4P2D/3S2P (TZ2P) basis set. DFT calculations use the Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA), BLYP, and Becke3LYP (B3LYP) density functionals. Mid-IR spectra predicted using LSDA, BLYP, and B3LYP force fields are of significantly different quality, the B3LYP force field yielding spectra in clearly superior, and overall excellent, agreement with experiment. The MP2 force field yields spectra in slightly worse agreement with experiment than the B3LYP force field. The SCF force field yields spectra in poor agreement with experiment.The basis set dependence of B3LYP force fields is also explored: the 6-31G* and TZ2P basis sets give very similar results while the 3-21G basis set yields spectra in substantially worse agreements with experiment. jg

Ab initio calculation of vibrational absorption and circular dichroism spectra using density functional force fields

Lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis mechanism: A state-of-the-art review

Microwave irradiation has been successfully applied in organic chemistry. Spectacular accelerations, higher yields under milder reaction conditions and higher product purities have all been reported. Indeed, a number of authors have described success in reactions that do not occur by conventional heating and even modifications of selectivity (chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity). The effect of microwave irradiation in organic synthesis is a combination of thermal effects, arising from the heating rate, superheating or “hot spots” and the selective absorption of radiation by polar substances. Such phenomena are not usually accessible by classical heating and the existence of non-thermal effects of highly polarizing radiation—the “specific microwave effect”—is still a controversial topic. An overview of the thermal effects and the current state of non-thermal microwave effects is presented in this critical review along with a view on how these phenomena can be effectively used in organic synthesis.

Microwaves in organic synthesis. thermal and non-thermal microwave effects

Spillover in Heterogeneous Catalysis

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on spillover of sorbed species. The exchange of species from one position to another, either on the surface or through the bulk, has been well established. More unique is the mobilization of a sorbed species from one phase onto another phase where it does not directly adsorb. This has been defined as “spillover. Spillover may result in a spectrum of changes in the nonmetallic phase onto which it occurs. In the weakest sense, the spiltover species is transported across the surface of this phase as a two-dimensional gas. It may exchange with similar surface species.The spiltover species may react with the surface, which can result in the creation of surface defects and/or active sites. Further, the bulk of the solid may be transformed into a different structure. In each of these cases, the second phase is no longer an inert. It is not serving to promote the inherent activity on the first phase. The second phase is participating directly in the transport, exchange, and reaction with the spiltover species. In some cases it is able to become catalytically active on its own and thereby to participate directly in subsequent catalysis. The chapter discusses the types of phenomena associated with spillover, the spillover of species other than hydrogen, the aspect of spillover with the most significant catalytic implications, the implication of spillover to catalysis and other heterogeneous processes, the mechanism of spillover, and the nature of the surface and spiltover species.

Spillover of sorbed species

In this paper we study the carbon efficiency of combining hydrolysis and pyrolysis processes using maple wood as a feedstock. A two-step hydrolysis of maple wood in batch reactors, that consisted of a thermochemical pretreatment in water followed by enzymatic hydrolysis, achieved an 88.7 wt% yield of glucose and an 85 wt% yield of xylose as liquid streams. The residue obtained was 80 wt% lignin. A combination of TGA and pyroprobe studies was used for the pyrolysis of pure maple wood, hemicellulose-extracted maple wood, and the lignin residue from the hydrolysis of maple wood. Pyrolysis of raw maple wood produced 67 wt% of condensable liquid products (or bio-oils) that were a mixture of compounds including sugars, water, phenolics, aldehydes, and acids. Pyrolysis of hemicellulose-extracted maple wood (the solid product after pretreatment of maple wood) showed similar bio-oil yields and compositions to raw maple wood while pyrolysis of the lignin residue (the final solid product of enzymatic hydrolysis) produced only 44.8 wt% of bio-oil. The bio-oil from the lignin residue is mostly composed of phenolics such as guaiacol and syringol compounds. Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of maple wood, hemicellulose-extracted maple wood, and lignin residue produced 18.8, 16.6 and 10.1 wt% aromatic products, respectively. Three possible options for the integration of hydrolysis with pyrolysis processes were evaluated based on their material and carbon balances: Option 1 was the pyrolysis/CFP of raw maple wood, option 2 combined hemicellulose extraction by hydrolysis with pyrolysis/CFP of hemicellulose-extracted maple wood, and option 3 combined the two-step hydrolysis of hemicellulose and cellulose sugar extraction with pyrolysis/CFP of the lignin residue. It was found that options 1, 2, and 3 all have similar overall carbon yields for sugars and bio-oils of between 66 and 67%.

Depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomass to fuel precursors: maximizing carbon efficiency by combining hydrolysis with pyrolysis

The aldol condensation reactions of furfural/hydroxymethylfurfural (furfurals) with acetone/propanal in water–methanol solvents were studied over the solid base catalysts MgO–ZrO 2 , NaY and nitrogen-substituted NaY (Nit-NaY). The reactions were conducted at 120 °C and 750 psig of He in batch reactors. Nit-NaY exhibited catalytic activity for aldol condensation comparable to MgO–ZrO 2 and much higher than that of NaY, indicative of the increased base strength after replacing the bridging oxygen with the lower electronegativity nitrogen over Nit-NaY. The aldol condensation of furfurals with acetone produces two different products, the monomer and the dimer. The monomer is formed from reaction of furfurals with acetone. The dimer is formed from reaction of the monomer with furfurals. MgO–ZrO 2 had a higher selectivity towards dimer formation. In contrast, Nit-NaY was more selective towards the monomer product due to the cage size in the FAU structure, indicating that Nit-NaY is a shape selective base catalyst. Increasing the water concentration in the feed solution or increasing the feed concentration led to both increased catalytic activity and dimer selectivity. The Nit-NaY catalyst was not stable and lost catalytic activity when recycled due to leaching of the framework nitrogen. Different characterization techniques, including XRD, high resolution Ar adsorption isotherm, basic sites titration, CO 2 TPD-MS, TGA and 29 Si SP MAS NMR, were used here to characterize the fresh and spent catalysts. The results show that Nit-NaY maintains only part of the FAU-type crystal structure. Furthermore, the base strength over Nit-NaY was found to be between that of Mg 2+ –O 2− pair and Mg(OH) 2 . The reaction mechanism over Nit-NaY was discussed.

/pdf/liquid-phase-aldol-condensation-reactions-with-mgo-zro2-and-3gh1vc46f0.pdf

Liquid phase aldol condensation reactions with MgO-ZrO2 and shape-selective nitrogen-substituted NaY

We have modeled the transformation of cellulose Iβ to a high temperature (550 K) structure, which is considered to be the first step in cellulose pyrolysis. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations at constant pressure using the GROMOS 45a4 united atom forcefield. To test the forcefield, we computed the density, thermal expansion coefficient, total dipole moment, and dielectric constant of cellulose Iβ, finding broad agreement with experimental results. We computed infrared (IR) spectra of cellulose Iβ over the range 300–550 K as a probe of hydrogen bonding. Computed IR spectra were found to agree semi-quantitatively with experiment, especially in the O–H stretching region. We assigned O–H stretches using a novel synthesis of normal mode analysis and power spectrum methods. Simulated IR spectra at elevated temperatures suggest a structural transformation above 450 K, a result in agreement with experimental IR results. The low-temperature (300–400 K) structure of cellulose Iβ is dominated by intrachain hydrogen bonds, whereas in the high-temperature structure (450–550 K), many of these transform to longer, weaker interchain hydrogen bonds. A three-dimensional hydrogen bonding network emerges at high temperatures due to formation of new interchain hydrogen bonds, which may explain the stability of the cellulose structure at such high temperatures.

/pdf/simulating-infrared-spectra-and-hydrogen-bonding-in-3lysr2noav.pdf

W. Curtis Conner

Papers

Spillover in Heterogeneous Catalysis

Spillover of sorbed species

Depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomass to fuel precursors: maximizing carbon efficiency by combining hydrolysis with pyrolysis

Liquid phase aldol condensation reactions with MgO-ZrO2 and shape-selective nitrogen-substituted NaY

Simulating infrared spectra and hydrogen bonding in cellulose Iβ at elevated temperatures