A Literature Survey of Intermediate Products Formed During the Thermal Aqueous Degradation of Cellulose

Molton, P.M.; Demmitt, T.F.

doi:10.1080/03602557808067660

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Although some work has aimed to manipulate the reaction to improve its selectivity, most studies have sought to identify the products of alkaline polysaccharide decomposition and to understand their formation. Some reviews of the topic are available; in particular, Nevell gives a detailed account of the mechanisms involved, 133 and Molton and Demmitt 134 and Knill and Kennedy 135 provide extensive lists of compounds that have been obtained. Alkaline cellulose degradation at low temperature has been studied in the context of nuclear waste storage, and many minor products of the reaction have been identified in these studies.…”

Section: Alkaline Hydrolysis (T < 250°c)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The number of acid equivalents produced per unit glucose lost from a cellulose chain, which would be 1 if there was no subsequent degradation from the saccharinic acids, has been measured to be 1.4-1.86 in aqueous sodium hydroxide, 138,148,150,152 so further degradation is clearly common. A great many compounds are produced in varying amounts from the alkaline degradation of cellulose, [133][134][135] meaning that control of selectivity in this type of reaction is likely to be decisive for its synthetic utility. In terms of controlling selectivity, the field of alkaline cellulose degradation has not yet progressed as far as that of acid-catalyzed cellulose hydrolysis, but the impacts of multiple factors on product selectivity have been examined.…”

Section: Product Selectivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Catalytic One-Pot Production of Small Organics from Polysaccharides

Verendel¹,

Church²,

Andersson³

2011

Synthesis

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The catalytic techniques that degrade polysaccharides such as cellulose and elaborate the resulting monomers into organic feedstocks in situ make up an old area of research that has been reignited of late. One-pot conversions of polysaccharides into small organic molecules under acidic, basic, oxidative, reductive and hydrothermal conditions have been reported, and a remarkable breadth of compounds have been produced. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), levulinic acid and polyols such as sorbitol have been obtained in particularly high yields, whereas serious selectivity struggles remain in reactions that produce organic acids such as lactic or glycolic acid. This review covers one-pot, catalytic transformations of polysaccharides into small organic molecules and focuses on mechanism, selectivity and optimization.

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Section: Alkaline Hydrolysis (T < 250°c)mentioning

confidence: 99%