Biomass derived efficient conversion of levulinic acid for sustainable production of γ-valerolactone over cobalt based catalyst

Biomass feedstocks offer very promising sustainable production of fuels and chemicals as fossil fuels generate greenhouse gases and are going to become scarce. Nevertheless, establishing value addition to biomass waste to produce commodity chemicals by combining economic and environmental performances is complex. In this context, hydrogenation of biomass based levulinic acid at normal atmospheric reaction conditions using robust cobalt supported on porous heterogeneous catalyst has been studied at 200 degrees C in a continuous process. The systematic investigation of Lewis acidic sites and low reaction temperature contribute to achieve 99 % conversion of levulinic acid and 80 % selectivity of gamma-valerolactone.

Automated summary

The study systematically examined the hydrogenation of biomass-based levulinic acid using a robust cobalt supported porous heterogeneous catalyst under normal atmospheric conditions at 200 degrees Celsius. The investigation of Lewis acidic sites and low reaction temperature contributed to achieving a 99% conversion of levulinic acid and an 80% selectivity of gamma-valerolactone.