The synthesis of methyl lactate and other methyl oxygenates from cellulose

Light oxygenates, such as methyl lactate (MLA), methyl levulinate (MLE), methyl formate (MFO), methyl acetate (MAC), dimethoxymethane (DMM), and methoxyacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal (MADA) were synthesized from cellulose in the presence of promoted SnX2 (X = Cl-, Br-, and I-) salt catalysts in methanol. The presence of halides in SnX2-MLn (MLn is metal salt) catalysts was found crucial for methyl lactate formation from sugar. The investigation shows that ZnCl2 is an efficient promoter for SnX2 catalyst in converting cellulose to light oxygenates. Up to 52.2% of total one-pass oxygenate yield was obtained in the presence of SnCl2-ZnCl2 catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.