Life Sciences Commons^™

Fast Pyrolysis Of Muconic Acid And Formic Acid Salts, Laura Duran

Honors College

Lignocellulosic biomass is emerging as a sustainable resource for the production of alternative liquid fuels. As the need to lessen dependence on petroleum sources grows, lignocellulosic feedstocks are being investigated as a renewable, abundant source of energy. Chemical pulping processes include a high-lignin by-product, black liquor, which is already used for fuel in industry. Black liquor is burned to generate steam and electricity and to recover pulping chemicals. Currently, the thermochemical conversion of black liquor to liquid fuel is being researched at The University of Maine. In this black liquor research, an intermediate lignin-derived acid, muconic acid, and formic acid …