Archive for November, 2015

Tunable hemicellulose product streams

Japanese scientists have discovered a method to convert tree hemicellulose (xylan) in a tunable fashion to either one of three chemical product streams, depending on the combination of catalysts and solvent phases employed. Hemicellulose is 20-30% of the structural lignocellulose component of biomass, with cellulose (40-50%) and lignin (20-30%) accounting for the remainder. As part of a biorefinery, it is important to be able to advantageously develop all of the feedstock into products in order to reduce waste and value the economic and material investment made during biomass production.

First, rhenium was introduced into an iridium impregnated silica. The resulting catalyst was capable of producing xylitol from xylan (79% yield) if used in combination with sulphuric acid in an aqueous reaction. Some success in achieving a partial reduction to pentanol was then observed when an organic solvent was introduced to the reaction. Finally, full hydrogenolysis to give pentane (in 70% yield) was accomplished by adding a HZSM-5 zeolite to the biphasic reaction.

The heterogeneous catalyst is recoverable and can be reactivated to continue providing a good yield of pentane. Thus a new flexibility to woody biomass processing has been demonstrated, complementing the more prevalent studies on cellulose and lignin.

This work is included in a online collection showcasing work presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Green Chemistry held in La Rochelle, France on 3rd-7th May 2015. Access the full collection of articles here.

Selective transformation of hemicellulose (xylan) into n-pentane, pentanols or xylitol over a rhenium-modified iridium catalyst combined with acids
Sibao Liu, Yasuyo Okuyama, Masazumi Tamura, Yoshinao Nakagawa, Akio Imai and Keiichi Tomishige
Green Chem., 2016, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/C5GC02183A

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Industrial Green Chemistry World 2015

The 4th Industrial Green Chemistry World Convention & Ecosystem Convention (IGCW-2015) is scheduled to be held on 4th & 5th December 2015 at the Hotel Courtyard Marriot, Mumbai. The conference will serve as a pro-active industrial platform that promises to bring together diverse stakeholders such as industry, academia & research institutes, government bodies, associates, etc., with the objective to identify their respective roles and responsibilities to accelerate the ‘green chemistry’ integration into Indian chemical industry.

Over 40+ global experts and industry leaders will speak at the IGCW-Symposium, and about 20 solution provider companies will exhibit their services, technologies and products at the IGCW-EXPO. Subject-specific 180o seminars will take place on industry oriented topics such as green processes, green catalysts, green solvents and green engineering. More than 100 senior representatives from industry have already confirmed their participation in various capacities.

For more details visit the website here.

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Lignin Chemistry and Valorisation – Green Chemistry themed issue

Green Chemistry is pleased to announce the publication of the Lignin Chemistry and Valorisation themed issue. The Guest Editors for this issue are Professor Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University, Netherlands), Dr Pieter Bruijnincx (Utrecht University, Netherlands) and Dr Roberto Rinaldi (Imperial College London, UK).

Recently, the scientific community has made significant progress in engineering lignin, characterising its structural features, valorising the biopolymer through catalysis, and finding new outlets for the lignin-derived products. The aim of this themed issue is to show the latest developments in the field of lignin chemistry and valorisation.

Below are some high quality Open Access articles in the collection. You can view the full collection here.

Efficient catalytic hydrotreatment of Kraft lignin to alkylphenolics using supported NiW and NiMo catalysts in supercritical methanol
Anand Narani, Ramesh Kumar Chowdari, Catia Cannilla, Giuseppe Bonura, Francesco Frusteri, Hero Jan Heeres and Katalin Barta
Green Chem., 2015, 17, 5046-5057. DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01643F


The synthesis and analysis of advanced lignin model polymers
C. S. Lancefield and N. J. Westwood
Green Chem., 2015, 17, 4980-4990. DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01334H


Ethanol as capping agent and formaldehyde scavenger for efficient depolymerization of lignin to aromatics
Xiaoming Huang, Tamás I. Korányi, Michael D. Boot and Emiel J. M. Hensen
Green Chem., 2015, 17, 4941-4950. DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01120E


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Recent HOT articles in Green Chemistry

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 30/11/2015. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

Zinc(II)-catalyzed reactions of carbon dioxide and propargylic alcohols to carbonates at room temperature
Jiayin Hu, Jun Ma, Qinggong Zhu, Qingli Qian, Hongling Han, Qingqing Mei and Buxing Han
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01870F, Communication


Synthesis of a polyisobutylene-tagged fac-Ir(ppy)3 complex and its application as recyclable visible-light photocatalyst in a continuous flow process
Daniel Rackl, Peter Kreitmeier and Oliver Reiser
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01792K, Paper


Precise oxygen scission of lignin derived aryl ethers to quantitatively produce aromatic hydrocarbons in water
Zhicheng Luo, Yimeng Wang, Mingyuan He and Chen Zhao
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01790D, Paper


Selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to 1,4-pentanediol in water using a hydroxyapatite-supported Pt–Mo bimetallic catalyst
T. Mizugaki, Y. Nagatsu, K. Togo, Z. Maeno, T. Mitsudome, K. Jitsukawa and K. Kaneda
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01878A, Communication


Oxidative desulfurization of DBT with H2O2 catalysed by TiO2/porous glass
C. Shen, Y. J. Wang, J. H. Xu and G. S. Luo
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01653C, Paper


Cooperative catalysis of Pt/C and acid resin for the production of 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran from biomass derived 2,5-hexanedione under mild conditions
Huacong Zhou, Jinliang Song, Qinglei Meng, Zhenhong He, Zhiwei Jiang, Baowen Zhou, Huizhen Liu and Buxing Han
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01741F, Paper


Supported nano-gold-catalyzed N-formylation of amines with paraformaldehyde in water under ambient conditions
Zhengang Ke, Yan Zhang, Xinjiang Cui and Feng Shi
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01992C, Paper


Efficient pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole formation from 2-aminopyridines and cyclohexanones under metal-free conditions
Yanjun Xie, Jun Wu, Xingzong Che, Ya Chen, Huawen Huang and Guo-Jun Deng
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01978H, Communication


Antimony recovery from the halophosphate fraction in lamp phosphor waste: a zero-waste approach
David Dupont and Koen Binnemans
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01746G, Paper


An efficient and recyclable tetraoxo-coordinated zinc catalyst for the cycloaddition of epoxides with carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure
Ran Ma, Liang-Nian He and Yue-Biao Zhou
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01826A, Paper


Production of solubilized carbohydrate from cellulose using non-catalytic, supercritical depolymerization in polar aprotic solvents
Arpa Ghosh, Robert C. Brown and Xianglan Bai
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC02071A, Paper


Attractive aerobic access to the α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium intermediate: oxidative NHC catalysis via multistep electron transfer
L. Ta, A. Axelsson and H. Sundén
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01965F, Communication


Catalyst-free dehydrative SN1-type reaction of indolyl alcohols with diverse nucleophiles “on water”
Jian Xiao, Hao Wen, Liang Wang, Lubin Xu, Zhihui Hao, Chang-Lun Shao and Chang-Yun Wang
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01838B, Paper


Towards sustainable fuels and chemicals through the electrochemical reduction of CO2: lessons from water electrolysis
Antonio J. Martín, Gastón O. Larrazábal and Javier Pérez-Ramírez
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01893E, Perspective


Light driven styrene epoxidation and hydrogen generation using H2O as an oxygen source in a photoelectrosynthesis cell
P. Farràs, C. Di Giovanni, J. N. Clifford, P. Garrido-Barros, E. Palomares and A. Llobet
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01589H, Paper


Synthesis of Ni-based co-catalyst functionalized W:BiVO4 nanofibers for solar water oxidation
Ki Ro Yoon, Jong Wan Ko, Doo-Young Youn, Chan Beum Park and Il-Doo Kim
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01588J, Communication


Biomass-derived binderless fibrous carbon electrodes for ultrafast energy storage
R. Berenguer, F. J. García-Mateos, R. Ruiz-Rosas, D. Cazorla-Amorós, E. Morallón, J. Rodríguez-Mirasol and T. Cordero
Journal Article
Green Chem., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5GC02409A, Paper

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