Hydrothermal conversion of glucose, fructose and cellulose and production of valuable chemicals

Renewable energy resources are very important for our country and the whole world. For this reason, the production process, conditions and end use applications of biomass have been investigated for a long time. In this project, glucose, fructose and cellulose have been used as the model compound to represent the cellulosic part of the biomass, and the behavior of these model compounds in hydrothermal decomposition have been investigated in the production of valuable chemicals. Fructose is a monosaccharide which has the same closed chemical form ( C6H12O6) as glucose structurally, but which contains a aldehyde group in first carbon in glucose structurally containing a keto group in the second carbon of fructose. This structural difference has been examined by hydrothermal decomposition and the amount and selectivity of the product that is formed during the reaction. In this view, the possible behavior of biosolids containing oligofructosaccharide as valuable chemicals, such as celluloses rich in glucose polymer, has been investigated. HNO3, H2SO4, Al(NO3)3 and Cr(NO3)3 have been used as a catalyst in the experiments. In order to obtain maximum efficiency, effect of temperature ( 120, 140, 160 ve 180o C), reaction time (20, 30, 40, 60 min), pH values (0.5, 1.0, 1.5) and Catalysts on the process have been examined. The change in liquid product according to the reaction parameters have been examined using HPLC and TOC analysis. Conversion values of valuable products have been calculated. Keywords: Subcritical hydrothermal degradation, Biomass, Levulinic acid