Liquid-phase synthesis of butyl levulinate with simultaneous water removal

Abstract

Today, the world faces two major challenges, the energy crisis and environmental pollution. The world's energy comes from fossil fuels that are responsible for the largest air pollution. For this reason many countries have taken actions. The EU directives on quality and composition of the fuels, that rule oxygen content of automotive fuels must be at least 15% in 2020. Consequently a reformulation of gasoline and diesel is needed in order to allow the contents stipulated in oxygenates. The butyl levulinate is an ester with a boiling point coincides with the lighter fraction of the fuel. The addition of this in diesel, improves the commercial circulation of diesel cold and, in turn, reduces particulate emissions. The butyl levulinat is an alkyl levulinat that can be synthesized from levulinic acid, furfuryl alcohol or directly from cellulose or monosaccharides. Levulinic acid, is a platform molecule formed by means of lignocellulose hydrolysis in Biofine process. Then butyl levulinate will be considered as a biodiesel product. Obtaining butyl levuliant by the esterification of levulinic acid with 1-butanol over several types of catalysts as zeolites, lipases, heteropoliacids (HPA) and ion exchange resins has been described. In the present work, the different behavior of different sulfonate polystyrene-divinylbenze resins is studied in the synthesis of butyl levulinat with simultaneous removal of water. The results of experiments confirm that polymer catalysts can be used in order to obtain high conversions and selectivity in favor of butyl levulinat. The structure of the resin determines the results obtained. Swelling of the polymeric matrix is a determining factor in the behavior of the resins because resins that present a higher swell favor esterification. As a whole, resins with a lesser degree of crosslinking present good relation between yield, selectivity and reaction times. Dowex 50Wx2 is resin which the best relation between yield, selectivity and reaction times Dowex 50Wx2