Valorization of chitosan into levulinic acid by hydrothermal catalytic conversion with methanesulfonic acid

As a potential renewable aquatic resource, chitosan is the second most abundant biopolymer. Methanesulfonic acid is a catalyst that is strongly acidic and biodegradable. We used chitosan and methanesulfonic acid to produce platform chemicals via an acid-catalyzed hydrothermal reaction. In the methanesulfonic acid-catalyzed hydrothermal conversion of chitosan, an optimal levulinic acid yield of 28.21 +/- 1.20% was achieved under the following conditions: 2% chitosan and 0.2 M methanesulfonic acid at 200 A degrees C for 30 min. These results indicated that a combination of chitosan and methanesulfonic acid would be suitable for platform chemical production.