Catalytic Conversion Of Cellulose To Methyl Lactate And Methyl Levulinate By SnCl₂·2H₂O-AlCl₃·6H₂O

In recent years, using renewable resources to replace limited fossil resources is urgently desired. Cellulose, in particular, the inedible lignocellulose is the most abundant renewable biomass resources. Nowadays, the methods of converting cellulose to fuel or other valuable chemicals by means of chemical or biological approaches are extensively studied. In our work, a new simple method is designed to convert cellulose into methyl lactate and methyl levulinate.In the investigation, Sn Cl2·2H2O-Al Cl3·6H2Ocatalyst was tested to directly convert cellulose to methyl lactate and methyl levulinate in methanol. The influences of reaction temperature, reaction time, the amount of catalyst, and other factors on the yields of methyl lactate and methyl levulinate were also systematically studied. Under the optimal conditions, with a ratio of m(Sn Cl2·2H2O): m(Al Cl3·6H2O): m(cellulose): m(methanol) equal to 2:5:20:500, the yields of methyl lactate and methyl levulinate were 28.4% and 8.2%, respectively, at 200? within 4 h of reaction.Sn Cl2·2H2O-Al Cl3·6H2O catalyst was employed in the conversion of bagasse into methyl lactate and methyl levulinate in methanol. Some factors, such as reaction temperature, reaction time, the amount of catalyst, and feed ratio were investigated in detail. Methyl lactate, methyl levulinate, methyl acetate yields of 18.0%, 4.4%, 4.9% were obtained, separately, at 190? after 6 hours of reaction, with the mol ratio of Sn Cl2·2H2O:Al Cl3·6H2O:bagasse:methanol equal to 3:2:20:400.