研究期間：10108~10207;Cellulose is the major component of biomass, which is readily available and does not compete with the food supply. Hydrolysis of cellulose as the entry point of biorefinery schemes is an important process for chemical and biochemical industries based on sugars, especially for fuel ethanol production. However, cellulose not only provides a renewable carbon source, but also offers challenges to researchers due to the structural recalcitrance. Considerable efforts have been devoted to the study of hydrolysis of cellulose by enzymes, acids, and supercritical water. The aim of this study is to develop a solid acid catalyst which can convert cellulose to glucose. Glucose will be easy to convert to ethanol. Various solid acid catalysts will be developed and tested. The acid catalysts will be characterized extensively. Since the molecule size of cellulose is quite large, meso pore or large pore solid acid catalysts will be tested. The reaction kinetics and optimum reaction condition will also be investigated.
