1. Renewable Chemicals and Energy from Lignocellulosic Biomass Jher Hau Yeap 10/7/2013

2. Overview  Introduction to lignocellulosic biomass  Applications  From cellulose  From hemicellulose  From lignin  Examples  Questions and discussion

3. What is lignocellulosic biomass?  Plant dry matter (biomass)  Three classifications  Virgin biomass  Energy crops  Waste biomass (non-edible)

4. Composition of biomass  40 - 50% Cellulose (six carbon)  25 - 35% Hemicellulose (five carbon)  15 - 20% Lignin (aromatic polymers)

5. Why biomass?  Renewable  Versatile  Cheap and readily available  Does not compete with food sources

6. Corn stover Image courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Bioenergy Program

7. Corn cobs

8. Switchgrass

9. Main applications  Platform chemicals  Second generation biofuels (produced from sustainable feedstock)

11. Platform chemicals  Basis of compounds found at home or industry  A “platform” for other chemicals

12. Chemicals from cellulose  Saccharification into glucose  Hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF), levulinic acid, formic acid  Fermentation to ethanol

13. Chemicals from hemicellulose  Saccharification into xylose and isomers  Furfural  Fermentation (some strains of yeast)

14. Chemicals from lignin  Various phenols  Guaiacol (1 methoxy group), syringol (2 methoxy groups)

15. Derivatives from platform chemicals  2,5-Dimethylfuran(DMF) from HMF (similar thermal efficiency to gasoline)  Gamma-valerolactone(GVL) from levulinic acid  Liquid alkanes from GVL  Furfuryl alcohol from furfural  2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid(FDCA) from HMF

16. Second generation biofuels  GVL in gasoline  Liquid alkanes from GVL  Ethanol from fermentation  DMF

18. Example: Plastic bottles from FDCA

19. Example process: GVL

20. Comparison: Ethanol from biomass vs corn  Corn is major food source, along with high fructose corn syrup  Ethanol from biomass does not cut into food chain

21. Questions?  Will this become mainstream?  What problems might arise?  Compare to other renewable energy(eg. solar, wind)?

22. References  Alonso, D. M., Bond, J. Q., & Dumesic, J. A. (2010). Catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels. Green Chemistry, 12(9), 1493-1513.  Wettstein, S. G., Alonso, D. M., Gürbüz, E. I., & Dumesic, J. A. (2012). A roadmap for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to chemicals and fuels.Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 1(3), 218-224.  Alonso, D. M., Wettstein, S. G., Mellmer, M. A., Gurbuz, E. I., & Dumesic, J. A. (2013). Integrated conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose from lignocellulosic biomass. Energy & Environmental Science, 6(1), 76-80.  GLBRC 2012 Science Report. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from https://www.glbrc.org/sciencereport/platform-chemicals-create-new-value-streams/ https://www.glbrc.org/sciencereport/platform-chemicals-create-new-value-streams/