Conversion of carbohydrates to levulinic acid esters

摘要

The present invention relates to the field of converting carbohydrates into levulinic acid, a platform chemical for many chemical end products. More specifically the invention relates to a method for converting carbohydrates such as mono-, di- or polysaccharides, obtained from for example biomass production into a suitable levulinic acid ester in the presence of a zeolite or zeotype catalyst and a suitable alcohol, and the ester may be further converted into levulinic acid if desired.

主权项

1. A method of converting a saccharide into levulinic acid ester, comprising heating the saccharide to a temperature between 120 and 200° C. in the presence of a zeolite or zeotype catalyst with a pore size diameter of at least 6{acute over (Å)}, wherein the effective number of total acid sites (measured by the TPD-NH3 method) in the catalyst is above 250 μmol/g, and the ratio between the number of medium acid sites (type 1) and strong acid sites (type 2) (measured by the TPD-NH3 method) is between 1:0.3 and 1:1; and a solvent selected from the group consisting of methanol and ethanol in a pressurized batch reactor,
wherein the saccharide is selected from the group consisting of glucose, a glucose-containing disaccharide, a glucose-containing oligosaccharide, and a glucose-containing polysaccharide or a mixture thereof; and wherein the pressure in the reactor is at least 2 bar.