Catalytic performance of hybrid nanocatalyst for levulinic acid production from glucose

Levulinic acid is one of the potential and versatile biomass-derived chemicals. Product analysis via HPLC revealed that the heterogeneous dehydration of glucose over hybrid nanocatalyst exhibited better performance compared to single catalyst. Hybrid nanocatalyst containing H-Y zeolite and CrCl₃ could substitute homogenous acid catalyst for attaining high levulinic acid yield. Different CrC₃ and H-Y zeolite weight ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 were prepared according to the wetness impregnation method. The hybrid catalyst with a 1:1 weight ratio performed better compared to others with the highest levulinic acid yield reported (93.5%) at 140 °C, 180 min reaction time, 0.1 g catalyst loading and 0.1 g glucose feed. Characterization results revealed that properties such as surface area, mesoporosity and acidic strength of the catalyst have significant effects on glucose dehydration for levulinic acid production.