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Synthesis and Pyrolysis of Selected Metal Levulinates

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Abstract

Eight metal levulinate salts of Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, La3+, Fe3+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ were prepared by reacting the corresponding hydroxides with equivalent amounts of levulinic acid in water. Pyrolysis of the salts at 350 °C for 3.0 min produces colorless liquid pyrolysate oils in yields of 100–567 g kg−1 dry salt. The pyrolysates were analyzed by 1H NMR and GC-MS. The group II metal levulinates produced pyrolysate oils of similar composition with 3-methyl-2-cyclopentenone, 2,3-dimethyl-2-cyclopentenone, and γ-valerolactone as the major compounds. The La3+ and Fe3+ levulinates produced pyrolysates with 3-methyl-2-cyclopentenone, 2,3-dimethyl-2-cyclopentenone, γ-valerolactone, and levulinic acid as the major compounds. The Cu2+ and Zn2+ salts produced pyrolysates with levulinic acid as the major compound.

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Acknowledgments

We thank NSF grants CBET-0929970, CBET-1336469, HRD-1036593, and USDA grant CBG-2010-38821-21569 for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, 77446, USA

    Ananda S. Amarasekara & Dominique T. Sterling-Wells

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  1. Ananda S. Amarasekara
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  2. Dominique T. Sterling-Wells
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Correspondence to Ananda S. Amarasekara.

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Amarasekara, A.S., Sterling-Wells, D.T. Synthesis and Pyrolysis of Selected Metal Levulinates. Bioenerg. Res. 8, 1956–1961 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-015-9616-z

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