University of Twente Student Theses
Hydrogenolysis of biomass to ethylene glycol : a yield improvement and its effects on lignin
Ruiz Flores, Diana Cecilia (2024) Hydrogenolysis of biomass to ethylene glycol : a yield improvement and its effects on lignin.
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| Full Text Status: | Access to this publication is restricted |
| Embargo date: | 26 August 2026 |
| Abstract: | The production of ethylene glycol (EG) from biomass is possible through biomass hydrogenolysis. Yields of around 25 wt.% were obtained in previous research, but the low value and low biomass feed (only 5%) make them unsuitable for industrial scale. By studying the effects caused by the catalyst and biomass load, temperature, hydrogen pressure, and pH, more suitable conditions to increase the EG yield were found, which led to a yield of 34 wt.% with a biomass feed of 10 wt.%. It translates to almost three times the mass of EG of the first experiment (from 0.12 to 0.37 g) with a slight increase of resources (from 245°C to 260°C and from a catalyst ratio of 0.3 to 0.93). Moreover, since biomass contains lignin and its selective and controlled conversion is achievable under similar conditions to biomass hydrogenolysis, we investigated if lignin upgrading was possible simultaneously. The results showed that lignin upgrading is constrained by its slow kinetics, the competition for resources with the EG production (especially for hydrogen and the catalysts), and its structure. It was proved that the most influential factor in lignin upgrading is temperature and that an extended reaction (five hours) does not improve lignin upgrading compared to a two-hour reaction. Hence, under the most optimal conditions for EG production, only 41% of lignin was extracted and 16 wt.% converted to 4-propyl guaiacol and guaiacol (9.4 wt.% and 5.9 wt.%, respectively). Although the results are low, we demonstrated that a one-pot conversion under optimal conditions for EG production is the best way to upgrade pinewood biomass. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Subject: | 35 chemistry, 58 process technology |
| Programme: | Sustainable Energy Technology MSc (60443) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/102875 |
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