Nanoarchitectonics of sulfonated biochar from pine needles as catalyst for conversion of biomass derived chemicals to value added products

Utilizing waste lignocellulosic biomass to synthesize biofuel precursors constructs an important way to solve the current energy crisis. In this work, we have prepared a sulfonated acid catalyst from pine needles derived biochar using chlorosulfonic acid for conversion of fructose to levulinic acid and levulinic acid to ethyl levulinate. In the best optimized conditions, sulfonated biochar as a catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the fructose conversion to levulinic acid and its esterification to ethyl levulinate with yield 33% and 97%.

Automated summary

Utilizing waste lignocellulosic biomass to synthesize biofuel precursors is an important solution to the current energy crisis. In this study, a sulfonated acid catalyst was prepared from pine needles derived biochar, which exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the conversion of fructose to levulinic acid and its esterification to ethyl levulinate with high yields.