Efficient one-pot synthesis of n-butyl levulinate from carbohydrates catalyzed by Fe2（SO4）3

• Published in: 能源化学：英文版 2017 (3), p.556-563
• Main Author: Ran An Guizhuan Xu Chun Chang Jing Bai Shuqi Fang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2095-4956

Butyl levulinate（BL） is a promising new candidate as diesel fuel and fuel additive. In this study, an efficient process for a one-pot synthesis of BL from biomass-derived carbohydrates in butanol medium with the catalysis of metal sulfates was developed. The catalytic activity of a series of metal sulfates for the synthesis of BL from fructose was investigated. Among various metal sulfates, ferric sulfate Fe2（SO4）3 was found to be the most efficient catalyst, which gave a remarkably high BL yield of 62.8 mol% under the conditions of 463 K, 3 h, a catalyst dosage of 5.0 g/L, and fructose concentration of 25 g/L. Different carbohydrates including glucose, cellulose, inulin and sucrose were also used for one-pot synthesis of BL with the catalysis of Fe2（SO4）3, showing the yields of 39.6, 30.5, 56.6 and 50.1 mol%, respectively. In addition,the recycling and reuse of Fe2（SO4）3 was studied by characterizing them using powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscope（SEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. A plausible reaction pathway for the one-pot synthesis of BL from fructose was proposed. This study provides a facile and feasible way for the synthesis of BL from biomass.