EUBCE 2024 - Conall MCNAMARA - Steady States of Alkyl Levulinate (An Advanced Biofuel) Production from Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass Via Acid Catalyzed Alcoholysis

Steady States of Alkyl Levulinate (An Advanced Biofuel) Production from Waste Lignocellulosic Biomass Via Acid Catalyzed Alcoholysis

Short Introductive summary

The global transportation fleet heavily relies on fossil-derived fuels, which significantly contributes to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The substitution of these fuels with biofuels is a viable pathway to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions without the upheaval of existing transportation infrastructure. The industrial upscaling of biofuels is confronted by two primary challenges. Firstly, the dichotomy of using the crops for either food or fuel production. Additionally, expanding farmland for cultivating crops aiming to increase the production of the latter can pose indirect land-use issues. A feasible solution lies in advanced biofuels, which exclusively utilize non-food waste, residues, and by-products as raw materials. Alkyl levulinates are promising advanced biofuels that can be derived from lignocellulosic biomass via alcoholysis processes. They can be blended with both diesel and gasoline and thus, used in conventional engines and infrastructure. This work determines the steady states of alkyl levulinate production from glucose, cellulose, xylan, corn cob and wheat straw at various reaction conditions.

C. Mcnamara, Trinity College Dublin, IRELAND
A. O'Shea, Trinity College Dublin, IRELAND
S. Dooley, Trinity College Dublin, IRELAND