Solvo-thermal hydrolysis of cellulose
The invention relates to a process for hydrolyzing cellulose, comprising: (a) contacting cellulose with a fluid mixture comprising supercritical CO 2 and sub-critical or near-critical water to form a reactant mixture at a first temperature and first pressure for a first time period, wherein a reaction occurs and forms one or more hydrolysis products; (b) quenching the reaction; and (c) recovering at least one hydrolysis product.
1. A process for hydrolyzing cellulose, comprising:
(a) contacting cellulose with a fluid mixture comprising supercritical CO 2 and sub-critical or near-critical water to form a reactant mixture at a first temperature and first pressure for a first time period, wherein a reaction occurs and forms one or more hydrolysis products;
(b) quenching the reaction; and
(c) recovering at least one hydrolysis product.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the fluid mixture comprises about 5 wt % to about 20 wt % CO 2 .
3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the reaction is performed at a pH of about 3 to about 5.
4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first time period is about 1 s to about 30 s.
5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the reaction is quenched by cooling the reactant mixture to a temperature of about 30° C. to about 80° C.
6. The process of claim 1 , wherein prior to step (a), the cellulose is solubilized by
(1) contacting the cellulose with near-critical or supercritical water at a second temperature and a second pressure for a second time period; and
(2) quenching the solubilization reaction.
7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the second temperature is about 373° C. to about 420° C.
8. The process of claim 6 , wherein the second pressure is about 200 bar to about 350 bar.
9. The process of claim 6 , wherein the second time period is about 0.1 s to about 5 s.
10. The process of claim 6 , wherein the solubilization reaction is quenched by lowering the temperature to about 280° C.
11. The process of claim 6 , wherein the solubilization reaction is quenched with CO 2 and optionally water.
12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the at least one hydrolysis product is selected from the group consisting of glucose, fructose, mannose, cellobiose and oligomers thereof.
13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process is a continuous process, a semi-continuous process or a batch process.
14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first temperature is about 270° C. to about 320° C.
15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first pressure is about 180 bar to about 350 bar.