A Shortcut Route to Close Nitrogen Cycle: Bio-Based Amines Production via Selective Deoxygenation of Chitin Monomers over Ru/C in Acidic Solutions
Shaoqu Xie,
Chuhua Jia,
Scott Sergio Go Ong,
Ziling Wang,
Mei-jun Zhu,
Qiaojuan Wang,
Yanhui Yang,
Hongfei Lin
Affiliations
Shaoqu Xie
Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Chuhua Jia
Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Scott Sergio Go Ong
Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Ziling Wang
School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Mei-jun Zhu
School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
Qiaojuan Wang
Institute of Advanced Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Yanhui Yang
Institute of Advanced Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Hongfei Lin
Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Chitin, a long-chain polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG) and the most abundant natural nitrogen-containing organic material in the world, is far under-utilized than other biomass resources. Herein, we demonstrate a highly efficient deoxygenation process to convert chitin monomer, i.e., NAG, into various amines, which are the ubiquitous platform chemicals in chemical industry. In the presence of H2 and Ru/C catalyst, the oxygen atoms in the glucosamine molecules are removed in the form of H2O and/or CO/CO2, whereas CO is hydrogenated to CH4. By optimizing the reaction conditions, ∼50% yield of various amines was obtained via the selective deoxygenation of NAG. The reaction mechanism has been proposed. These findings not only promote shell biorefinery in green chemistry and fishery industry but also provide chemicals for material science, resulting in expanding cooperation in new areas such as clean energy, energy conservation, environment protection, and infrastructure.
