Mesoporous Materials-Based Catalysts for Chemical Hydrolysis of Polysaccharides

Solid-supported catalysts enable the replacement of solutionbased catalytic chemical processes leading to facile separation of products from the reaction medium, fewer byproducts, lower energy consumption, and less environmental pollution. Recently, this catalytic method has received a lot of attention provided that it could apply to enhance the conversion of a variety of biopolymers into fuels. Cellulose is one of the biopolymers of interest given the large number of specialty chemicals and biofuels that could be synthesized using cellulose as a starting material. Cellulose consists of glucose units connected through β-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Hydrolysis of cellulosic polymers in the presence of strong acids results in oligosaccharides, glucose, and ultimately in specialty chemicals that are typically obtained from fossil fuels processing. Typical industrial workhorses industrially used in the hydrolysis of cellulose are hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). There are a variety of problems created by string acids, including difficult product separation, corrosion of reaction vessels, poor-to-none catalyst recyclability, and the need for waste treatment; therefore, catalysts that could avoid any of these or all are highly sought. Solid supported catalysis is viewed as solution to eliminating corrosion, the need for waste treatment and provide an excellent separation platform.