Event
PhD Oral Defense: Sustainable synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic acid
Friday, August 4, 2017 13:15
Macdonald-Stewart Building
MS2-022 (Faculty Lounge), 21111 Lakeshore Road, St Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, CA
PhD Oral Defense of Agneev Mukherjee, Department of Bioresource Engineering
The conversion of biomass to chemicals on an industrial scale at a competitive cost requires the development of biorefineries analogous to petrochemical refineries. In a biorefinery, different biomass feedstocks are converted into platform chemicals which can, in turn, yield a large number of end-products. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid (LA) are two promising platform chemicals. They can be produced from carbohydrate or lignocellulosic feedstock via acid hydrolysis. Despite the potential importance of HMF and LA and extensive research on them at the laboratory level, few commercial production plants have been reported.