Production of levulinic acid and use as a platform chemical for derived products

Levulinic acid (LA) can be produced cost effectively and in high yields from renewable cellulosics. The technology to convert cellulosic biomass to LA is being demonstrated on a 1 ton/day scale using paper mill sludge and municipal solid waste as the feedstock. Low cost LA has great possibilities as a platform chemical for the production of a wide range of value-added product chemicals. For example, a process developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory produces methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) from LA in > 80% molar yield by a single-stage catalytic hydrogenation process. MTHF may be used as a solvent and as a fuel. In other work, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a new preparation of delta-aminolevulinic acid (DALA), a broad spectrum herbicide, from LA. Each reaction step proceeds in high (> 80%) yield and affords DALA in greater than 90% purity, giving a process that could be commercially viable. LA is also bring investigated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a starting material for the production of diphenolic acid, a direct replacement for bisphenol A in several commercial polymers.