Fuels and plastics from lignocellulosic biomass via the furan pathway; a technical analysis

Abstract

Biorefineries convert biomass into bio-based products, which have the potential to replace typical products produced by petroleum refineries. They provide a technology platform to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, increase security of supply and reduce the dependency on crude oil. The biorefinery concept presented in this paper focuses on a combination of (1) organosolv fractionation to produce carbohydrates from lignocellulosic biomass and (2) the furan technology to convert carbohydrates into polyethylene furanoate(PEF), a bio-based alternative to polyethylene terephthalate(PET), and furfuryl ethyl ether (FEE), a bio-based transportation fuel component. The goal of this paper is to determine the mass and energy balances of the production of PEF and FEE from lignocellulosic biomass and indicate the benefits, as well as potential bottlenecks in the coupling of organosolv and furan chemistry as a biorefinery concept. Three cases are defined, modeled and analyzed, each focusing on a different approach to combine the organosolv and furan conversion technologies and determine the possibility and degree of integration. Modeling results based on experimental data and expert judgments show that wheat straw, as an example of lignocellulosic biomass, can be converted into PEF and FEE at yields between 20 and 40 w/w%, based on total input, while energetic efficiencies are between 30 and 40%. This is comparable or even better compared to other upcoming bio-based processes, e.g. 15–35% yield for second generation bio-ethanol production and 25–50% energy efficiency. The conclusion is that in each of the three cases presented bio-based fuels and plastics can be produced via the furan pathway at efficiencies that constitute a viable option from a technological point of view

Integrated reduction and acid-catalysed conversion of furfural in alcohol medium using Zr,Al-containing ordered micro/mesoporous silicates

“…The elemental mappings showed fairly homogeneous metal dispersions; no particles of bulk zirconia or alumina were observed, which is consistent with the PXRD studies. The EDS analyses of (Zr) SSIE -beta and (ZrAl) SSIE -beta indicated that they possess similar atomic ratio Si/(Zr+Al) (16)(17)(18)(19) (Table 2), which is consistent with the fact that the molar amounts of Zr or (Zr+Al) added to deAl-beta were the same for the two materials ( Table 1). The atomic ratio Al/Zr was higher for (ZrAl) SSIE -beta than (Zr) SSIE -beta (1.2 and 0.03, respectively), and the Si/Al ratio was much lower for (ZrAl) SSIE -beta (35 compared to 588 (Zr) SSIE -beta), which is consistent with the fact that (ZrAl) SSIE -beta was obtained via SSIE for both Zr and Al.…”

“…Besides FA, various useful bio-products, such as alkyl furfuryl ethers (FEs), levulinate esters (LEs), angelica lactones (AnLs), levulinic acid (LA), and -valerolactone (GVL) can be produced from Fur (Scheme 1) [13][14][15]. For example, FEs are used as blending components of gasoline [16,17] and as flavours [18,19]. LEs are useful chemical intermediates for producing coatings, resins and flavour preparations [20,21], anticancer agents, pesticides and insecticides [22].…”

“…The EDS analyses indicated atomic ratios of Si/Al = 19 for Al-TUD-1, and Si/Zr = 23 for Zr-TUD-1; these values are roughly comparable to the respective ratios of the corresponding synthesis gels (Table 1). The materials (ZrAl)-TUD-1(0.3) and (ZrAl)-TUD-1(0.7) possessed a similar Si/(Zr+Al) atomic ratio(15)(16), and the atomic ratio Al/Zr which was 0.5 for (ZrAl)-TUD-1(0.3) and 1.3 for (ZrAl)-TUD-1(0.7). The compositions of the materials (…”

Autohydrolysis and aqueous ammonia extraction of wheat straw: effect of treatment severity on yield and structure of hemicellulose and lignin

“…2,3 Successful commercialization of lignocellulosic bioreneries requires development of costeffective pretreatment technologies to overcome the resistance of lignocellulose materials against chemical and microbial attack. 4 A preferential pretreatment process should aim at maximizing the yield of products while minimizing the environmental impact from the generated emissions and waste streams.…”

One-pot conversion of furfural to useful bio-products in the presence of a Sn,Al-containing zeolite beta catalyst prepared via post-synthesis routes

“…It can be converted to the bio-products furfuryl alcohol (FA), furfuryl alkyl ethers (FEs), levulinate esters (LEs), levulinic acid (LA), angelica lactone isomers (AnLs) and -valerolactone (GVL) [2][3][4] (Scheme 1), useful in different sectors of the chemical industry. FA, industrially produced via hydrogenation of Fur, is used in the foundry 3 industry [5], and FEs are used as blending components of gasoline [6,7] and as flavour compounds [8,9]. LEs are used as oxygenate fuel additives [10][11][12], solvents, and to produce plasticizers and flavouring agents [13][14].…”