A Green and Recyclable Catalytic Pretreatment Strategy for Enhancing Synthesis of Biofuel

Developing greener lignocellulose pretreatment method is one of the important issues that needs to be addressed in the biomass refining process. This work aims to investigate a recyclable Cu2O/H2O2 catalytic pretreatment method for improving synthesis efficiency of aviation fuel from lignocellulosic biomass. The Cu2O/H2O2 catalytic pretreatment dramatically facilitated the preparation of ethanol intermediate and bio-aviation fuel. Lignocellulosic biomass pretreated by Cu2O/H2O2 showed higher ethanol yield (33.8 %). For the synthesis process of aviation fuel, ethanol conversion of 93.1% and aviation fuel selectivity of 70.8% were achieved. On the basis of catalyst characterization, biomass characterization and free radical detection, probable function and mechanism of Cu2O/H2O2 catalytic pretreatment were proposed. The cuprous oxide catalyst promoted the formation of hydroxyl radicals, thereby facilitating lignocellulose’s depolymerization. Ulteriorly, Cu2O/H2O2 catalytic pretreatment enhanced the saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass, which was beneficial for the formation of ethanol intermediate and the production of biofuel.