Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Heterogeneous Char Based Solid Acid Catalysts from Brown Bin Waste to Create a Green Process for the Production of Butyl Butyrate

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Waste and Biomass Valorization Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Brown bin waste can be used for the production of butanol and butyric acid by employing fermentation techniques. This study focuses on heterogeneous solid acid catalyst obtained from solid residues derived from a fermentation process and applied for the efficient conversion of butyric acid to butyl butyrate. The solid acid catalysts were produced by sulfonation of char obtained from the slow pyrolysis of brown bin waste digestate at various temperatures (400, 500 and 600 °C). The catalysts possessing the highest surface area and acid density were shown to have the highest catalytic activity and thus performed better giving competitive results to Amberlyst 15 and H2SO4 (96 % yield), after 24 h reaction. Increasing the catalyst loading was found to positively affect the yields of butyl butyrate, especially at early reaction time. Realistic kinetic parameters were formulated for the optimum char based solid acid catalyst using two power law models.

Graphical Abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McCormick, R.L., Graboski, M.S., Alleman, T.L., Herring, A.M., Tyson, K.S.: Impact of biodiesel source material and chemical structure on emissions of criteria pollutants from a heavy-duty engine. Environ. Sci. Technol. 35(9), 1742–1747 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Pereira, E., dos Santos, L.M., Einloft, S., Seferin, M., Dullius, J.: Biodiesel production from high FFA degummed rice bran oil by a two-step process using ethanol/methanol and a green catalyst. Waste Biomass Valoriz. 6(3), 343–351 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hayes, D.J.: An examination of biorefining processes, catalysts and challenges. Catal. Today 145(1–2), 138–151 (2009)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. Kang, S.Y., Park, C.H., Yoon, Y.S., Cho, I.H., Ahn, H.W., Park, S.R., Song, J.H., Lee, S.H., Sang, B.I., Suh, Y.W., Um, Y.S., Lee, S.M.: Method of extracting butyric acid from a fermented liquid and chemically converting butyric acid into biofuel. U.S.A. Patent

  5. Jenkins, R.W., Munro, M., Nash, S., Chuck, C.J.: Potential renewable oxygenated biofuels for the aviation and road transport sectors. Fuel 103, 593–599 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Ramey, D.E., Yang, S.-T.: Production of Butyric Acid and Butanol from Biomass. Medium: ED; Size: 3.9. (2005)

  7. Maddox, I.S.: The acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation: recent progress in technology. Biotechnol. Genet. Eng. Rev. 7(1), 189–220 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chen, Y., Su, Y., Jiao, F., Chen, G.: A simple and efficient synthesis protocol for sulfonation of nitrobenzene under solvent-free conditions via a microreactor. RSC Adv. 2(13), 5637–5644 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lou, W.Y., Zong, M.H., Duan, Z.Q.: Efficient production of biodiesel from high free fatty acid-containing waste oils using various carbohydrate-derived solid acid catalysts. Bioresour. Technol. 99(18), 8752–8758 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Chen, G., Fang, B.S.: Preparation of solid acid catalyst from glucose-starch mixture for biodiesel production. Bioresour. Technol. 102(3), 2635–2640 (2011)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. Galhardo, T.S., Simone, N., Gonçalves, M., Figueiredo, F.C.A., Mandelli, D., Carvalho, W.A.: Preparation of sulfonated carbons from rice husk and their application in catalytic conversion of glycerol. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 1(11), 1381–1389 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Severini, F., Flannelly, T., Nolan, D.O., Leahy, J.J., Kwapinski, W.: Development of heterogeneous acid catalysts produced from the carbonization of Miscanthus × giganteus for the esterification of butyric acid to butyl butyrate with n-butanol. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 91(7), 2076–2084 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Evans, L., Okamura, S., Poll, J., Barker, N.: Evaluation of opportunities for converting indigenous UK wastes to fuels and energy—report to the National Non-Food Crops Centre NNFCC, pp. 1–195. (2009)

  14. Shen, D., Xiao, R., Gu, S., Luo, K.: The pyrolytic behavior of cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass: a review. RSC Adv. 1(9), 1641–1660 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Matras, J., Niewiadomski, M., Ruppert, A., Grams, J.: Activity of Ni catalysts for hydrogen production via biomass pyrolysis. Kinet. Catal. 53(5), 565–569 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kwapinski, W., Byrne, C.M.P., Kryachko, E., Wolfram, P., Adley, C., Leahy, J.J., Novotny, E.H., Hayes, M.H.B.: Biochar from biomass and waste. Waste Biomass Valoriz. 1(2), 177–189 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Dehkhoda, A.M., West, A.H., Ellis, N.: Biochar based solid acid catalyst for biodiesel production. Appl. Catal. A 382(2), 197–204 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Waddington, D.J., Finlay, H.S.: Organic Chemistry Through Experiment, 4th edn. Bell & Hyman, London (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Du, S., Valla, J.A., Bollas, G.M.: Characteristics and origin of char and coke from fast and slow, catalytic and thermal pyrolysis of biomass and relevant model compounds. Green Chem. 15(11), 3214–3229 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Dehkhoda, A.M., Ellis, N.: Biochar-based catalyst for simultaneous reactions of esterification and transesterification. Catal. Today 207, 86–92 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Rao, B.V.S.K., Chandra Mouli, K., Rambabu, N., Dalai, A.K., Prasad, R.B.N.: Carbon-based solid acid catalyst from de-oiled canola meal for biodiesel production. Catal. Commun. 14(1), 20–26 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Zong, M.-H., Duan, Z.-Q., Lou, W.-Y., Smith, T.J., Wu, H.: Preparation of a sugar catalyst and its use for highly efficient production of biodiesel. Green Chem. 9(5), 434–437 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yu, J.T., Dehkhoda, A.M., Ellis, N.: Development of biochar-based catalyst for transesterification of canola oil. Energy Fuels 25, 337–344 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Gomez-Serrano, V., Pastor-Villegas, J., Perez-Florindo, A., Duran-Valle, C., Valenzuela-Calahorro, C.: FT-IR study of rockrose and of char and activated carbon. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 36(1), 71–80 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Deactivation and Testing of Hydrocarbon-Processing Catalysts, Copyright, Advisory Board, Foreword. In: Deactivation and Testing of Hydrocarbon-Processing Catalysts, vol. 634. ACS Symposium Series, vol. 634, pp. i–iv. American Chemical Society, (1996)

  26. Zhang, W., Tao, H., Zhang, B., Ren, J., Lu, G., Wang, Y.: One-pot synthesis of carbonaceous monolith with surface sulfonic groups and its carbonization/activation. Carbon 49(6), 1811–1820 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Fraile, J.M., García-Bordejé, E., Roldán, L.: Deactivation of sulfonated hydrothermal carbons in the presence of alcohols: evidences for sulfonic esters formation. J. Catal. 289, 73–79 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the Earth and Natural Sciences Doctoral Studies Programme funded under by the higher Education Authority (HEA) through the Programme for Research at Third-Level Institutions, Cycle 5 (PRTLI-5) and co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). We also thank the Chemical and Environmental Science Department and the Materials and Surface Science Institute of the University of Limerick.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Environmental Science Department, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Francesco Severini, James J. Leahy & Witold Kwapinski

  2. Chemical Sciences Department, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Witold Kwapinski

Authors
  1. Francesco Severini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James J. Leahy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Witold Kwapinski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Witold Kwapinski.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 2251 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Severini, F., Leahy, J.J. & Kwapinski, W. Heterogeneous Char Based Solid Acid Catalysts from Brown Bin Waste to Create a Green Process for the Production of Butyl Butyrate. Waste Biomass Valor 8, 2431–2441 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9696-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9696-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation