Levoglucosenone, furfural and levomannosan from mannan-rich feedstock: A proof-of-principle with ivory nut

This work pioneers the thermocatalytic conversion of tagua seeds (or ivory nut) from palm Phytelephas aequatorialis into key chemical building blocks, being levoglucosenone, furfural and levomannosan. Annually, ca. 100,000 metric ton those are produced in Ecuador. Mannan (a mannose-polymer similar to cellulose) is main constituent tagua. Thermocatalytic conversions were first explored on analytical scale see if – which extent e.g., was obtained tagua, using catalysts with proven activity for cellulose conversion, H3PO4 or ZnCl2. Non-catalytic fast pyrolysis led levomannosan as product (33.89 wt% ± 0.24 wt%), much like levoglucosan pyrolysis. Catalytic ZnCl2 resulted value-added levoglucosenone (max 6.64 0.27 wt%) 13.17 0.66 at expense (between 12 wt.%–14 wt%). Validation experiments a continuous auger reactor successful liquids 3.69 H3PO4-infused nut. Although further optimization should follow this work, results showcased fundamental “mannan furfural” therefore potential mannan-rich feedstock biorefining. Moreover, these can be translated other agricultural residues, açaí seeds, major residue Brazil (1.1 million annually).