ISBN 9783843944403

978-3-8439-4440-3, Reihe Technische Chemie

Fabian Pienkoß
Kaolin, a natural and cost-effective catalyst for methanol-based glucose-fructose isomerization in the context of biorefineries

245 Seiten, Dissertation Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (2019), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Lignocellulose has recently been considered as a possible future raw material for the chemical and fuel industry. In the course of this work, the natural clay mineral kaolin was identified as a new and cost-effective catalyst for the glucose-fructose isomerization process. After establishing an analytical method for the quantification of sugars and glycosides, kaolin from different sources was characterized and the performance during reaction was evaluated. Subsequently, reaction conditions as well as yield and selectivity of the fructose species were optimized using design of experiments. The catalyst was also subjected to a detailed recycling and stability analysis, including 120 hours of use in a continuous flow system. After upscaling of the batch-reaction, the resulting reaction mixture was then converted into bio-based platform chemicals during initial tests.