Production of methyl levulinate from different biomasses and extraction of methyl levulinate.
Methyl levulinate, coconut, rice, biomass.
With the excessive consumption of fossil resources, in recent years, researchers have been studying ways to convert biomass resources that are generated on a large scale into alternative sources of energy, chemicals and fuels. Since biomass is carbon neutral, it is considered a sustainable element, with minimal environmental damage, thus being a renewable option for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals. The most recent studies have focused on the direct conversion of carbohydrates derived from biomass into levulinate esters because the synthetic technique is simple, waste water is minimized and products are easily purified by distillation. Thus, this work aims to produce Methyl Levulinate from different biomasses and methyl extraction. This research is justified by the fact that methyl levulinate is considered an ecological solvent, used as an additive to gasoline and diesel in addition to being widely used in the herbicide, fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. However, conventional production of methyl levulinate is one of the challenges found in industries, due to the high cost of production. An alternative and sustainable solution for the production of methyl levulinate is the use of biomass, a product found on a large scale, which most of the time is discarded without use.