Levulinic acid from corncob by subcritical water process

The productions of levulinic acid from corncob were carried out by subcritical water process in a temperature range of 180-220 degrees C, reaction time of 30, 45, and 60 min. The acid modified zeolite was used as the catalyst in the subcritical water process. The ratio between the mass of zeolite and volume of hydrochloric acid in the modification process were 1: 5, 1: 10 and 1:15. The optimum values of the process variables in the subcritical water process for the production of levulinic acid from corncob were: Temperature of 200 degrees C; 1: 15 zeolite to acid ratio; and reaction time of 60 min. The maximum levulinic acid concentration obtained in this study was 52,480 ppm or 262.4 mg/g dried corncob.