| 초록 |
The efficient hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose monomer using solid acid catalysts is challenging due to its high crystallinity induced by a large number of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonds in cellulose. Although the ball-milling of cellulose can effectively deconstruct the cellulose crystallinity and thereby increase the hydrolysis rate of cellulose, the harsh ball-milling conditions significantly decrease the merit of this approach in terms of process economics. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of the dissolved CO2 in water, i.e., carbonic acid, as a homogeneous acid catalyst for the enhanced hydrolysis of cellulose when combined with the solid acid catalyst. We find that CO2 alone can convert cellulose to glucose, and the conversion increases linearly with the added CO2 pressure. Importantly, the use of CO2 with the sulfonated activated carbon results in the significantly improved glucose yield of ~70%, demonstrating its efficacy as a green catalyst. |
