Effective Upgrading of Levulinic Acid into Hexyl Levulinate Using AlCl3·6H2O as a Catalyst

• Published in: Biomass (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 3; no. 3; pp. 266 - 278
• Main Authors: D’Ambrosio, Valeria, Pastore, Carlo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.08.2023
• Subjects: AlCl3·6H2O; catalyst recoverability; direct esterification; hexyl levulinate; process intensification

AlCl3·6H2O was used as a catalyst in the esterification reaction of levulinic acid with 1-hexanol for producing hexyl levulinate, a compound that finds applications in several industrial sectors and represents an excellent candidate to be used in diesel fuel blends. A kinetic and thermodynamic study...