Invited for this month's cover are the groups of Prasert Reubroycharoen at the Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) and Aritomo Yamaguchi at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan). The cover picture shows the the conversion of chitin, which is generated by food processing, into lactic acid with catalysis by magnesium oxides. Although chitin, a main component of the shells of crustaceans, can be converted to valuable products by means of homogeneous catalysis, most of the chitin is treated as industrial waste because use of homogeneous catalysts is compromised by difficulties associated with product separation from the catalysts and the recyclability of the catalysts. Thus, a method for converting chitin to useful chemicals, such as lactic acid, by using solid catalysts would be beneficial. Magnesium oxide catalysts can be reused twice without loss of activity. Read the full text of their Full Paper at 10.1002/open.202000303.
Although chitin, an N-acetyl-D-glucosamine polysaccharide, can be converted to valuable products by means of homogeneous catalysis, most of the chitin generated by food processing is treated as industrial waste. Thus, a method for converting this abundant source of biomass to useful chemicals, such as lactic acid, would be beneficial. In this study, we determined the catalytic activities of various metal oxides for chitin conversion at 533 K and found that MgO showed the highest activity for lactic acid production. X-ray diffraction analysis and thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis showed that the MgO was transformed to Mg(OH) 2 during chitin conversion. The highest yield of lactic acid (10.8 %) was obtained when the reaction was carried out for 6 h with 0.5 g of the MgO catalyst. The catalyst could be recovered as a solid residue after the reaction and reused twice with no decrease in the lactic acid yield.
The Front Cover shows the conversion of chitin, which is generated by food processing, into lactic acid with catalysis by magnesium oxides. Although chitin, a main component of the shells of crustaceans, can be converted to valuable products by means of homogeneous catalysis, most of the chitin is treated as industrial waste because use of homogeneous catalysts is compromised by difficulties associated with product separation from the catalysts and the recyclability of the catalysts. Thus, a method for converting chitin to useful chemicals, such as lactic acid, by using solid catalysts would be beneficial. Magnesium oxide catalysts can be reused twice without loss of activity. More information can be found in the Full Paper by Kodchakon Kun‐asa et al.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.