Kinetic study on oil palm biomass conversion to levulinic acid via indium trichloride-ionic liquids

Abstract

This study investigates the kinetics of depolymerisation reaction of oil palm mesocarp fiber biomass conversion to levulinic acid via Bronsted-Lewis acidic ionic liquids catalyst. An eco-friendly catalyst was developed by coupling Lewis acid indium trichloride with a noncorrosive acidic mono-alkylated ionic liquids, 1-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, for the production of levulinic acid in a greener perspective. The kinetic experiments were conducted at mild temperatures ranged from 135 to 175°C at varying time of 1.5 to 5h. A kinetic model based on the pseudo first-order reaction was established to describe the behaviour of catalytic LA production. The activation energy of the depolymerisation reaction was calculated to be 61.8 kJ mol-1, which is comparatively lower than the previous reported values via various catalytic means of LA production from various biomass feedstock.