Eco-Friendly Catalytic Synthesis of Top Value Chemicals from Valorization of Cellulose Waste

The total amount of cellulose from paper, wood, food, and other human activity waste produced in the EU is in the order of 900 million tons per year. This resource represents a sizable opportunity to produce renewable chemicals and energy. This paper reports, unprecedently in the literature, the usage of four different urban wastes such as cigarette butts, sanitary pant diapers, newspapers, and soybean peels as cellulose fonts to produce valuable industrial intermediates such as levulinic acid (LA), 5-acetoxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (AMF), 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), and furfural. The process is accomplished by the hydrothermal treatment of cellulosic waste using both Bronsted and Lewis acid catalysts such as CH3COOH (2.5-5.7 M), H3PO4 (15%), and Sc(OTf)(3) (20% w:w), thus obtaining HMF (22%), AMF (38%), LA (25-46%), and furfural (22%) with good selectivity and under relatively mild conditions (T = 200 degrees C, time = 2 h). These final products can be employed in several chemical sectors, for example, as solvents, fuels, and for new materials as a monomer precursor. The characterization of matrices was accomplished by FTIR and LCSM analyses, demonstrating the influence of morphology on reactivity. The low e-factor values and the easy scale up render this protocol suitable for industrial applications.

Automated summary

The total amount of cellulose waste produced in the EU every year, including paper, wood, food, and other human activity waste, is about 900 million tons per year. This waste represents a significant opportunity to produce renewable chemicals and energy. This paper presents a novel approach to utilize various urban wastes such as cigarette butts, sanitary pant diapers, newspapers, and soybean peels as sources of cellulose to produce valuable industrial intermediates.