RUDN researcher develops system to produce ethers from cellulosic waste

October 28, 2020 |

In Russia, a chemist from RUDN University developed a silica-supported heteropolyacid system to produce ethers from waste products of the wood and paper industry and agriculture. Ethers can be used as biofuels, and the new method increases the efficiency of their production 4 to 10 times, thus reducing energy consumption and making the manufacturing of biofuels cheaper. The results of the study were published in the Molecular Catalysis journal.

To produce ethers, HMF has to react with alcohols, so the researchers used butanol in their studies. The so-called Preyssler acids acted as a catalyst. They could have worked on their own, but the team found a way to modulate their activity. The chemists developed a xerogel from silica dioxide and immobilized the Preyssler acids on it. Acid molecules were distributed across the molecular matrix of the xerogel, thus increasing the contact area with HMF. As a result, the xerogel increased both the conversion of the reaction (i.e. the amount of reacting HMF) and its selectivity (the quantity of produced ether as compared to other products).

Category: Research

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