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Reductive Depolymerization Of Kraft Lignin For Chemicals And Fuels Using Formic Acid As A In-Situ Hydrogen Source, Shanhua Huang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis work, formic acid (FA) proved to be an effective in-situ hydrogen donor for the reductive de-polymerization of kraft lignin (KL). At the optimum conditions without catalysts, i.e., 300 ^oC, 1 h, 18.6 wt.% substrate concentration, 50/50 (v/v) water-ethanol medium at a FA-to-lignin mass ratio of 0.7, KL (M_w ~10,000 g/mol) was effectively de-polymerized, producing de-polymerized lignin (DL, M_w 1, 270 g/mol) at a yield of ~90 wt.% and wt.% yield of solid residue (SR). The effects of heterogeneous catalysts on KL reductive de-polymerization in 50/50 (v/v) water-ethanol medium were also investigated. At all conditions, …