title: Solvent effects in acid-catalyzed biomass conversion reactions.
abstract: Reaction kinetics were studied to quantify the effects of polar aprotic organic solvents on the acid-catalyzed conversion of xylose into furfural. A solvent of particular importance is γ-valerolactone (GVL), which leads to significant increases in reaction rates compared to water in addition to increased product selectivity. GVL has similar effects on the kinetics for the dehydration of 1,2-propanediol to propanal and for the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose. Based on results obtained for homogeneous Brønsted acid catalysts that span a range of pKa values, we suggest that an aprotic organic solvent affects the reaction kinetics by changing the stabilization of the acidic proton relative to the protonated transition state. This same behavior is displayed by strong solid Brønsted acid catalysts, such as H-mordenite and H-beta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (USA).
authors.forename: Max A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mellmer
authors.forename: Canan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sener
authors.forename: Jean Marcel R
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Jeremy S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Luterbacher
authors.forename: David Martin
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dumesic
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002384:Catalysis; D007700:Kinetics; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents
keywords: biomass; catalysis; kinetics; solvent effects; sustainable chemistry