Biobased Chemicals from d-Galactose: An Efficient Route to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Using a Water/MIBK System in Combination with an HCl/AlCl Catalyst.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is an attractive building block for biobased chemicals. Typically, ketoses like d-fructose (FRC) are suitable starting materials and give good yields of HMF in a simple aqueous phase process with a Bro̷nsted acid catalyst. With aldoses, such as d-glucose (GLU), much lower yields were reported in the literature.

Novel Route to Produce Hydrocarbons from Woody Biomass Using Molten Salts.

The thermochemical decomposition of woody biomass has been widely identified as a promising route to produce renewable biofuels. More recently, the use of molten salts in combination with pyrolysis has gathered increased interest. The molten salts may act as a solvent, a heat transfer medium, and possibly also a catalyst.

Evaluation of Analysis Methods for Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, and Furfural from Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil.

Fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO), a second-generation liquid bioenergy carrier, is currently entering the market. FPBO is produced from biomass through the fast pyrolysis process and contains a large number of constituents, of which a significant part is still unknown. Various analytical methods have been systematically developed and validated for FPBO in the past; however, reliable methods for characterization of acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and furfural are still lacking.

Process Intensification of Enzymatic Fatty Acid Butyl Ester Synthesis Using a Continuous Centrifugal Contactor Separator.

Fatty acid butyl esters were synthesized from sunflower oil with 1-butanol using a homogeneous lipase in a biphasic organic (triglyceride, 1-butanol, hexane)- water (with enzyme) system in a continuous setup consisting of a cascade of a stirred tank reactor and a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS), the latter being used for integrated reaction and liquid-liquid separation. A fatty acid butyl ester yield up to 93% was obtained in the cascade when operated in a once-through mode. The cascade was run for 8 h without operational issues.