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Processed Lignin as a Byproduct of the Generation of 5‐(Chloromethyl)furfural from Biomass: A Promising New Mesoporous Material
Author(s) -
Budarin Vitaliy L.,
Clark James H.,
Henschen Jonatan,
Farmer Thomas J.,
Macquarrie Duncan J.,
Mascal Mark,
Nagaraja Gundibasappa K.,
Petchey Tabitha H. M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201501319
Subject(s) - furfural , levulinic acid , thermogravimetric analysis , lignin , mesoporous material , pyrolysis , biomass (ecology) , lignocellulosic biomass , chemical engineering , biorefining , catalysis , chemistry , porosimetry , organic chemistry , physisorption , materials science , biorefinery , raw material , porosity , oceanography , porous medium , engineering , geology
The lignin by‐product of the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to 5‐(chloromethyl)furfural (CMF) has been characterised by thermogravimetric analysis, N 2 physisorption porosimetry, attenuated internal reflectance IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and solid‐state NMR spectroscopy. The lignin (LCMF) has a moderate level of mesoporosity before thermal treatment and a surface area of 63 m 2 g −1 , which increases dramatically on pyrolysis at temperatures above 400 °C. An assessment of the functionality and textural properties of the material was achieved by analysing LCMF treated thermally over a range of pyrolysis temperatures. Samples were sulfonated to test their potential as heterogeneous acid catalysts in the esterification of levulinic acid. It was shown that unpyrolysed catalysts gave the highest ester yields of up to 93 %. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of mesoporous lignin with an appreciable surface area that is produced directly from a bio‐refinery process and with further textural modification of the material demonstrated.