Hydrogenation of Xylose to Xylitol in the Presence of Bimetallic Nanoparticles Ni3Fe Catalyst in the Presence of Choline Chloride

Hydrogenation of sugars to sugars alcohols is of prime interest for food applications for instance. Xylose obtained from the hemicellulose fraction of lignocellulosic biomass can be hydrogenated to xylitol. Herein, we conducted catalytic hydrogenation reactions in a non-conventional media approach by using choline chloride, a non-toxic naturally occurring organic compound that can form a deep eutectic solvent with xylose. Acknowledging the benefits of cost-effective transition metal-based alloys, Ni3Fe1 bimetallic nanoparticles were utilized as a hetero-catalyst. Under optimized reaction conditions (110 degrees C, 3 h and 30 bar H-2), a highly concentrated feed of xylose (76 wt.%) was converted to 80% of xylitol, showing the benefit of using choline chloride. Overall, the catalytic conversion activity and the product selectivity in the substrate-assisted DES media are relatively high but, the recyclability of the catalyst should be improved in the presence of such media.

Automated summary

This study utilized a non-conventional media approach for catalytic hydrogenation reactions, using choline chloride as a deep eutectic solvent to hydrogenate xylose from lignocellulosic biomass into xylitol. The results showed that under optimized reaction conditions, using choline chloride led to efficient conversion of high-concentration xylose into xylitol.