Catalysis performance comparison of a Brønsted acid H2SO4 and a Lewis acid Al2(SO4)3 in methyl levulinate production from biomass carbohydrates

A comparison of the roles of the Brønsted acid H2SO4 and Lewis acid Al2(SO4)3 in biofuel methyl levulinate (ML) production from biomass carbohydrates showed that Brønsted acid plays critical roles in converting cellulose to methyl glucoside and 5-methoxymethylfurfural to methyl levulinate, while Lewis acid facilitates the isomerization of methyl glucoside to methyl fructoside, and a desired ML yield can be obtained using ball-milled cellulose with Al2(SO4)3.161