Combining steam distillation with microwave-assisted pyrolysis to maximise direct production of levoglucosenone from agricultural wastes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Combining steam distillation with microwave-assisted pyrolysis to maximise direct production of levoglucosenone from agricultural wastes

AU - Bouxin, Florent P.

AU - Clark, James H.

AU - Fan, Jiajun

AU - Budarin, Vitaliy

N1 - © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

PY - 2019/3/21

Y1 - 2019/3/21

N2 - The favourable impact of using a wet waste stream of agricultural residues in a biorefinery was studied through a combination of pyrolysis and self-induced steam distillation of hemicellulose depleted barley straw. The results showed that steam distillation provided both selective isolation and higher yields of polysaccharide-derived products such as levoglucosenone (LGO). The acid content of pretreated barley straw had the highest impact on the products selectivity. Both hydrolytic and pyrolytic pathways contributed to the products distribution, with higher selectivity toward pyrolytic products such as levoglucosan and LGO when less than 0.8 wt% acid was used. Interestingly, the increase of water content increased the overall products yields but had no impact on the products selectivity suggesting that the water did not directly impact on the decomposition pathway. In situ vaporisation of the water generates a microwave transparent steam environment preventing the distilled products for further degradation. The observation of the selective microwave activation of the polysaccharides in the presence of lignin offers significant opportunities for subsequent conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

AB - The favourable impact of using a wet waste stream of agricultural residues in a biorefinery was studied through a combination of pyrolysis and self-induced steam distillation of hemicellulose depleted barley straw. The results showed that steam distillation provided both selective isolation and higher yields of polysaccharide-derived products such as levoglucosenone (LGO). The acid content of pretreated barley straw had the highest impact on the products selectivity. Both hydrolytic and pyrolytic pathways contributed to the products distribution, with higher selectivity toward pyrolytic products such as levoglucosan and LGO when less than 0.8 wt% acid was used. Interestingly, the increase of water content increased the overall products yields but had no impact on the products selectivity suggesting that the water did not directly impact on the decomposition pathway. In situ vaporisation of the water generates a microwave transparent steam environment preventing the distilled products for further degradation. The observation of the selective microwave activation of the polysaccharides in the presence of lignin offers significant opportunities for subsequent conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063148708&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/c8gc02994f

DO - 10.1039/c8gc02994f

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85063148708

SN - 1463-9270

VL - 21

SP - 1282

EP - 1291

JO - Green Chemistry

JF - Green Chemistry

IS - 6

ER -