Effect of Single-walled carbon nanotube catalysts on hydrothermal pretreatment of cellulose

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were employed to obtain glucose from lignocellulose effectively via hydrothermal pretreatment. Hydrothermal pretreatment of eucalyptus and cellulose was conducted with and without SWCNT catalysts. SWCNT catalysts modified via oxidation and/or acid treatment were also applied. Oxidation treatment was conducted in the air at 500 °C for 30 min and acid treatment was conducted in the 96 % sulfuric acid for 18 h. Hydrothermal pretreatment was conducted using an 84 mL autoclave by heating samples that contained 0.6 g of cellulose to 200 °C with a heating rate of 4 °C/min and then cooling down at once. The initial SWCNTs were basic, and oxidation resulted in increased basicity. Acid treatment successfully increased the acid site density of the SWCNTs. The glucose yield increased with acid site density, showing the effectiveness of the acid-treated SWCNTs. © 2018 Japan Petroleum Institute. All rights reserved.