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Comparison of corncob-derived solid acids and evaluation of catalytic cellulose hydrolysis performance in LiBr

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Abstract

In order to enhance the valorization of corncob, corncob-based solid acid catalysts were prepared via the method of partial carbonization followed by sulfonation. The prepared acid catalysts were either derived from raw corncob (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin), or its residues after different pretreatments, i.e., furfural residue (cellulose and lignin) and hydrolysis residue (humins and lignin), to investigate the components’ effect on the performance of solid acid. These catalysts were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), elemental analysis, and acid–base titration. The analysis results suggested that the solid acid (Catalyst-3) derived from the hydrolysis residue had the best performance, with a BET surface area of 338.23 m2 g−1 and total acid densities of 6.43 mmol g−1. This results indicated –SO3H groups were loaded onto the catalyst successfully. The catalytic activity was tested by cellulose hydrolysis in lithium bromide trihydrate solution (LBTH) system. The yield of glucose was as high as 80.1% at the temperature of 110 °C for 10 h. Moreover, the prepared solid acid had the advantages of easy separation, mild reaction, and producing less by-products compared with traditional liquid acids. This work provides a promising strategy for corncob waste utilization and cellulose efficient hydrolysis, which is of great significance for biomass valorization and conversion.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Doctoral Startup Foundation of Qingdao Agricultural University (No. 663/1120040), Young Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province (No. tsqn 201909132), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2020QB195), and Startup Foundation from Qingdao Agricultural University (No. 665/1119020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Qingdao Agricultural University, 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Liang, Chunhua Du, Xianli Wu, Ju Wang & Jie Xu

  2. College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, 700 Changcheng Road, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China

    Pengyu Hu & Wangda Qu

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  1. Chen Liang
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  2. Chunhua Du
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  3. Xianli Wu
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to this study. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Chen Liang: writing—original draft preparation, funding acquisition, methodology

Chunhua Du: investigation

Xianli Wu: review and editing

Ju Wang: review and editing

Jie Xu: review and editing

Pengyu Hu: review and editing

Wangda Qu: investigation, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition

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Correspondence to Wangda Qu.

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Liang, C., Du, C., Wu, X. et al. Comparison of corncob-derived solid acids and evaluation of catalytic cellulose hydrolysis performance in LiBr. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 14, 2019–2031 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02322-6

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