Improvement on the catalytic performances of butyl levulinate hydrogenation to γ-valerolactone over self-regenerated CuNiCoB/Palygorskite catalyst

Thermal Stability for the Continuous Production of γ-Valerolactone from the Hydrogenation of N-Butyl Levulinate in a CSTR

γ-valerolactone can be a game-changer in the chemical industry because it could substitute fossil feedstocks in different fields. Its production is from the hydrogenation of levulinic acid or alkyl levulinates and can present some risk of thermal runaway. To the best of our knowledge, no studies evaluate the thermal stability of this production in a continuous reactor. We simulated the thermal behavior of the hydrogenation of butyl levulinate over Ru/C in a continuous stirred-tank reactor and performed a sensitivity analysis. The kinetic and thermodynamic constants from Wang et al.’s articles were used. We found that the risk of thermal stability is low for this chemical system.

Selective hydrogenation of butyl levulinate to γ-valerolactone over sulfonated activated carbon-supported SnRuB bifunctional catalysts

The sulfonated activated carbon (SAC) supported SnRuB catalyst was developed through the co-impregnation followed by a chemical reduction process and applied for BL hydrogenation to GVL for the first time.