TWO-STAGE, ACID-CATALYZED CONVERSION OF CARBOHYDRATES INTO LEVULINIC ACID

摘要

A method of producing levulinic acid from biomass is described. The method includes two acid treatment steps: first, treating biomass with a first aqueous acidic solution at a pH, for a time, and temperature such that at least a portion of pentosans contained within the biomass is extracted from the biomass, to yield pentosan-extracted biomass; second, treating the pentosan-extracted biomass with a second aqueous acidic solution at a pH, for a time, and a temperature, such that at least a portion of hexosans contained within the pentosan-extracted biomass are converted to levulinic acid.