Enzymatic synthesis of a novel solid–liquid phase change energy storage material based on levulinic acid and 1,4-butanediol

Abstract

The current energy crisis has prompted the development and utilization of renewable energy and energy storage material. In this study, levulinic acid (LA) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) were used to synthesize a novel levulinic acid 1,4-butanediol ester (LBE) by both enzymatic and chemical methods. The enzymatic method exhibited excellent performance during the synthesis process, and resulted in 87.33% of LBE yield, while the chemical method caused more by-products and higher energy consumption. What’s more, the thermal properties of the obtained LBE as a phase change material (PCM) were evaluated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the melting temperature, latent heat of melting, and pyrolysis temperature were 50.51 °C, 156.1 J/g, and 150–160 °C, respectively. Compared with the traditional paraffin, the prepared PCM has a superior phase transition temperature, a higher latent heat of melting, and better thermal stability. The thermal conductivity could be increased to 0.34 W/m/k after adding expanded graphite (EG). In summary, LBE has great potential in the application of energy storage as a low-temperature phase change energy storage material. Graphical Abstract

Biocatalyst and continuous microfluidic reactor for an intensified production of n-butyl levulinate: Kinetic model assessment

“…Alkyl levulinates can be produced via the alcoholysis of sugar monomers or LA esterification [7,8,22]. The latter route can be done via homogenous [23], heterogeneous [24][25][26][27][28][29][30] or enzymatic catalysis [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. The use of heterogeneous catalysts such as resins, zeolite or immobilized enzymes should be favored to avoid additional separation stages [23].…”

Multistage Porous Carbon Derived from Enzyme-Treated Waste Walnut Green Husk and Polyethylene Glycol for Phase Change Energy Storage

“…However, few works have used enzymatic treatments in the preparation of phase-change materials. Zhai et al [ 52 ] pointed out that the enzymatic method exhibited excellent performance during the synthesis process, while the chemical method caused more by-products and higher energy consumption.…”

Synthesis of 5-(Hydroxymethyl)furfural Monoesters and Alcohols as Fuel Additives toward Their Performance and Combustion Characteristics in Compression Ignition Engines

“…20 Additionally, the product yields could be suppressed with increasing reactant concentration or reaction temperature. 21,22 In the aspect of catalysts for production of HMF, several research groups reported novel catalysts that yielded a high percentage of conversion of biomass to HMF. Malkar et al reported an aluminum-exchanged heteropolyacid with the maximum conversion of 99% biomass to HMF within 10 h. This four-time reusable catalyst was stable and able to form C9 adducts at up to 84%.…”

“…However, the biocatalytic process generally requires a high production cost and a limited range of operating conditions . Additionally, the product yields could be suppressed with increasing reactant concentration or reaction temperature. , …”

“… 20 Additionally, the product yields could be suppressed with increasing reactant concentration or reaction temperature. 21 , 22 …”