Hydrolysis of cellulose over silica-salicylaldehyde phenylhydrazone catalyst

A novel catalyst has been developed toward the production of second generation (2G) biofuels instead of using the expensive enzymes. Salicylaldehyde phenylhydrazone was immobilized onto silica rice husk ash to form a heterogeneous catalyst denoted as RHPHMP. The BET measurements of the catalyst showed that the surface area to be 194 m2/g with pore size distribution fall within the microporous region. The FT-IR clearly showed the presence of NH and CN absorption bands at the expected range. The elemental and EDX analysis of RHPHMP showed the nitrogen is included into the catalyst structure. The RHPHMP was efficient for the hydrolysis of cellulose, with maximum glucose yield over 82% at 140 °C in 14 h. The catalysts were simple in its preparation, stable during the cellulose hydrolysis in addition to repeatedly without a significant loss of its catalytic activity.