Catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose with sulfonated carbon catalyst to produce levoglucosenone

In this study, a new method for the efficient preparation of levoglucosenone (LGO) by biomass catalytic pyrolysis with sulfonated carbon catalyst was proposed. The influence of pyrolysis temperature and the mass ratio of catalyst to glucose or cellulose on the formation of LGO was systematically studied. The results show that when the mass ratio of glucose to sulfonated carbon is 1:1 and the pyrolysis temperature increases from 300 °C to 500 °C, the LGO selectivity first increased and then decreased, reaching a maximum value of 46.4% at 400 °C. Meanwhile, the yield of LGO increased steadily with the increase in pyrolysis temperature, and the yield of LGO was reached a maximum value of 2.48 wt% at 500 °C. However, with the increasing amount of catalyst, the selectivity of LGO increased steadily, while the yield of LGO increased at first and then decreased. Overall, the optimum pyrolysis temperature and mass ratio of the glucose/sulfonated carbon catalyst for LGO production were 400 °C and 1:1, respectively. Density functional theory calculations showed that the catalytic action of sulfonated carbon changed the reaction pathway of glucose pyrolysis, making glucose more inclined to form LGO through a 1,2 dehydration mechanism.