Hydrothermal conversion of glucose into lactic acid with sodium silicate as a base catalyst

•Carbohydrate can be converted into lactic acid with sodium silicate as a base catalyst under hydrothermal conditions.•A good lactic acid yield of 30% was obtained.•Sodium silicate as a base catalyst, not only promotes the formation of the lactic acid, but also decreases the corrosion of the reactor.

In this paper, the hydrothermal conversion of glucose to lactic acid (LA) using sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) as a mild base catalyst was investigated. The results showed that Na2SiO3 was effective catalyst for the conversion of glucose. The highest LA yield of about 30% was obtained from glucose with a lower concentration of Na2SiO3 at 300 °C for 60 s. It was also found that the use of Na2SiO3 led to a much less corrosion and a higher LA yield than that with NaOH at the same pH value. This process provides an environmentally friendly and highly effective method toward the synthesis of useful LA from glucose.

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