Sustainable Production of Lactic Acid from Cellulose Using Au/W-ZnO Catalysts

Abstract

The catalytic conversion of cellulose to lactic acid (LA) has garnered significant attention in recent years due to the potential of cellulose as a renewable and sustainable biomass feedstock. Here, a series of Au/W-ZnO catalysts were synthesized and employed to transform cellulose into LA. Through the optimization of reaction parameters and catalyst compositions, we achieved complete cellulose conversion with a selectivity of 54.6% toward LA over Au/W-ZnO at 245 °C for 4 h. This catalyst system also proved effective at converting cotton and kenaf fibers. Structural and chemical characterizations revealed that the synergistic effect of W, ZnO, and Au facilitated mesoporous architecture generation and the establishment of an adequate acidic environment. The catalytic process proceeded through the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose, isomerization to fructose, and its subsequent conversion to LA, with glucose isomerization identified as the rate-limiting step. These findings provide valuable insights for developing high-performance catalytic systems to convert cellulose.

Promoted Production of Lactic Acid from Glucose by Calcium Hydroxide in the Presence of Hydrogen

“…Therefore, chemical catalysis strategies have been attempted for the production of lactic acid from sugars or biomass-derivatives with the homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Wang et al, reported that in the presence of dilute lead (II) ions, glucose was converted to lactic acid at 190 °C with a yield of 66 %. However, the toxicity of lead ions affects the practical application of the system.…”

Valorizing natural-abundant glucose to lactic acid using a MOF-808 catalyst under green hydrothermal conditions

“…Compared with bio-fermentation, the catalytic approach for producing LA exhibits greater potential for large-scale production and higher production efficiency. 13–15 Consequently, the catalytic method seems to be a more favorable route for LA production. Various types of catalysts including homogeneous metal-based Lewis acids such as SnCl 2 , 16 SnCl 4 , 17 CrCl 2 , 18 CrCl 3 , 18 Cr 2 (SO 4 ) 3 , 18 alkali hydroxides Ba(OH) 2 , 7 and heterogeneous ( e.g.…”