Heterogeneously catalyzed reactive extraction for biomass valorization into chemicals and fuels

Abstract

This paper focuses on the heterogeneously catalyzed reactive extraction and separation in reaction steps in organic and aqueous phases during the transformation of biomass derived products. Two approaches are demonstrated for decomposing and preserving routes for biomass transformation into valuable products. The decomposing approach has been validated by transformation of glycerol into building blocks like CO, CO2 and H2 by aqueous phase reforming (APR) in the aqueous phase with simultaneous synthesis of hydrocarbons by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) in the organic phase. The preserving approach has been validated by the dehydration of xylose over acidic catalyst with the hydrogenation of formed furfural in the organic phase. As a result, selectivities in the range of 30–50% to the wax and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, respectively, have been obtained by application of reactive extraction for both approaches.

Keywords

• aqueous phase reforming
• biomass
• dehydration
• fischer-tropsch synthesis
• reactive extraction