Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition
4 years ago

Selective Utilization of the Methoxy Group in Lignin to Produce Acetic Acid

Selective Utilization of the Methoxy Group in Lignin to Produce Acetic Acid
Qinglei Meng, Buxing Han, Junfeng Xiang, Hangyu Liu, Huizhen Liu, Xiaojun Shen, Qingqing Mei
Selective transformation of lignin into a valuable chemical is of great importance and challenge owing to its complex structure. Herein, we propose a strategy for the transformation of methoxy group (-OCH3) which is abundant in lignin into pure highly valuable chemicals. As an example to apply this strategy, a route to produce acetic acid with high selectivity by conversion of methoxy group of lignin was developed. It was demonstrated that the methoxy group in lignin could react with CO and water to generate acetic acid over RhCl3 in the presence of a promoter. The conversions of methoxy group in the kraft lignin and organosolv lignin reached 87.5 % and 80.4 %, respectively, and no by-product was generated. This work opens the way to produce pure chemicals using lignin as the feedstock. Made from biomass: The transformation of methoxy groups in lignin into acetic acid is possible by selective reaction of the methoxy groups with CO and water over RhCl3. The conversion of the methoxy groups in lignin can reach 87.5 % with 100 % selectivity to acetic acid.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/anie.201706846

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