Catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose to levulinic acid by partly replacing sulfuric acid with Nafion® NR50 catalyst

Acid catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose to levulinic acid (LA) was conducted by partly replacing homogeneous catalyst sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) with solid acid Nafion® NR50. With the presence of Nafion® NR50, 75% of H₂SO₄ catalyst can be saved, and a high LA yield, 40.4 wt%, was realized even without stirring the reaction solution. Although stirring favored the LA yield and shortened the reaction time, the deactivation of Nafion® NR50 was observed. In fact, non-stirring condition is advocated, under which the Nafion® NR50 still maintains excellent catalytic activity and reusability.